NEW YORK – U.S. Soccer and Fox had big plans on Tuesday at Pier 17 at South Street Seaport. The historic, lower Manhattan maritime district at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge was the site of the nationally broadcast, men’s national team roster reveal.

By the time the event arrived, however, the cat was out of the bag. The 26 players who made the team and will compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup were notified on Friday. By Saturday, the picks were confirmed and reported by The Guardian and The Athletic, among other outlets. 

That didn’t matter to the hundreds of fans who turned out. They still packed the rooftop to catch a glimpse of the players on stage in a live presentation, or take selfies with new U.S. Soccer mascot, Banner, or collect a free, screen-printed T-shirt with roster-reveal specific designs.

Before the roster presentation, U.S. Soccer also hosted a fan celebration where attendees were encouraged to write messages on signs for the players while prints with the “Never Chase Reality” campaign message were handed out. 

The event was intended as a showcase of the players hand-picked by coach Mauricio Pochettino, but U.S. Soccer hopes it will be the first of many events and matches showcasing the growth of soccer in the nation since the U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994.After the event, the players headed to Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center just south of Atlanta to begin final preparations before a pair of exhibition matches against Senegal and Germany – in Charlotte, North Carolina and Chicago, respectively – and their opening World Cup Group D match against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles.

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