With a World Cup on the horizon and a massive European season weeks away, it's all starting to come into focus for the USMNT
We're more than halfway through 2025 but, for soccer purposes, it feels like we just surpassed a milestone. The Gold Cup is over, the Club World Cup wraps this weekend, so it's time to turn the page for the U.S. men's national team.
The Gold Cup, of course, ended in a disappointing 2-1 loss to Mexico in the final. It was an eventful summer, but with a World Cup on the horizon and a massive European season just weeks away, it's all starting to come into focus. Players have already started reporting to their clubs for preseason, transfers are in the balance and Mauricio Pochettino is planning for the next international window in September.
GOAL looks at 10 key storylines for the USMNT for the second half of the year.
GettyChristian Pulisic under pressure
Christian Pulisic skipped out on this summer's slate to make sure his health was right for the road to 2026. Once the Serie A season gets going, he'll have to show it was all worth it. If he doesn't get off to a hot start, there will be no shortage of critics ready to hold this summer's decision against him.
The AC Milan winger has put himself into a position where he simply has to play well, not that that's a bad thing. He was fantastic last season for AC Milan and will likely be a huge part of the club's plans once again this season, so game time won't be a problem. The faster he gets scoring, though, the faster he can put this summer's PR disaster behind him with evidence that proves he might just have been right.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportCan a center-back contender step up?
This Gold Cup made it clear that Tim Ream remains the preferred option for the USMNT alongside Chris Richards, but can anyone change that?
Mark McKenzie, Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers are all playing at a high level in Europe, and all three will have ambitions of starting at the World Cup. What can they do to seize a chance? Could young dual-national Noahkai Banks leap into Pochettino's plans? Is there a surprise option to enter the race?
At the moment, center-back is one of few positions that could shift, and there are plenty of contenders.
Getty Images SportThe goalkeeper situation
Who would have thought that the USMNT goalkeeper position would have been so dependent on a decision from a governing body known as the Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion?
Having won it's appeal to the body which oversees the finances of French football teams, Lyon's relegation was overturned and they will remain in Ligue 1. For Matt Turner, that means his reported move to the club could go through, if all parties are still interested
It's an interesting one for Turner, who clearly needs to play, and play well, if he wants to start for the USMNT next summer. If not, Matt Freese – who started all six matches in the Gold Cup – will headline the MLS candidates that will continue to put pressure on Turner to make the most of things at the club level.
Getty Images SportReyna's attempt to save career
Make no mistake about it: Gio Reyna's career needs saving. He spent the last four years stagnating on Borussia Dortmund's bench and trainer's room. Now 22, Reyna has run out of time to waste.
How many players have missed as much time as he has in these crucial years and come out the other side? For Reyna to become the player everyone expected him to become, he needs to right the ship – and do it right now.
His transfer saga is most certainly the most interesting one of the summer, largely as it is totally make or break for a player that may or may not be a key member of the USMNT going forward.