Sounders' Cristian Roldan officially will play for U.S. in World Cup

With the Brooklyn Bridge and East River as a backdrop, Cristian Roldan walked across a stage in a slate gray suit with a white shirt, shaking a U.S. Soccer jersey.

Emblazoned above the No. 15 was his dream materialized: Roldan.

The Sounders captain was one of 26 players named to the U.S. men's national team's FIFA World Cup roster. The squad was formally revealed Tuesday during an hourlong ceremony that aired live on FOX from The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City.

Players officially received word Friday via video message from USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino. The roster was leaked in the media Saturday.

"This is something I've been waiting for for a very long time, a dream come true," Roldan said. "The second part of it was my (Sounders) teammates coming up to me and congratulating me. I'm not here without them. I'm thankful for the team and all the support they give me."

The former University of Washington standout was named to the 2022 USMNT roster but didn't see the field during the tournament in Qatar. He's the only active Sounders player to be named to back-to-back World Cup rosters and is the only one to make a roster this year.

There was criticism regarding Roldan's selection. He acknowledged he's seen the comments. Followers of the USMNT doubt he can play as a defensive midfielder on the international level - even though he has. Others believe Tanner Tessmann, a defensive midfielder for France's Lyon, is a better choice.

Tessman recently suffered a muscle injury and that could be the reason he was omitted. Pochettino dismissed a question regarding Tessman at a news conference following the announcement Tuesday.

"We cannot talk about the players that are not on the roster, because that's very disrespectful to the players that made the roster," said Pochettino, who was named coach in September 2024. "It's impossible to be fair with everyone. But I made the best decision to be competitive in the end and to try to win."

Roldan didn't expect to be the only one representing the Sounders.

"I was probably the last person to be part of this team," he said. "It's a little difficult to manage that because if you told me that I was going to be kind of like the last man standing, I would've said you're lying to me."

Sounders left back Nouhou seemed to be a lock, but Cameroon failed to qualify. Nouhou started for his country during the Qatar World Cup.

Jordan Morris and Jesús Ferreira were part of the 2022 USMNT World Cup roster, the latter representing FC Dallas at the time.

Ferreira left the January 2025 USMNT camp early because of injury and hasn't been called up since. Morris declined a winter camp call-up, and suffered multiple injuries last season and a quad strain earlier this year that likely ended his consideration.

Sounders winger Paul Arriola was cut from the USMNT roster in 2022.

Roldan, who'll turn 31 on June 3, willed his way back onto the international stage after a two-year absence. He received his first call-up from Pochettino in September 2025.

The decorated Argentine coach referred to Roldan as a "perfect player" after he recorded two assists in a 2-1 win against Australia last fall.

Roldan has 45 caps for the United States, including eight appearances during the last four FIFA international windows. He's tallied five career assists.

On the club level, the Pico Rivera, Calif., native recently logged his 400th appearance for the Sounders through all competitions. He has three goals and four assists this season in MLS and CONCACAF Champions Cup play combined.

"Cristian represents everything you want in a player and teammate," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said in a news release. "He's selfless, competitive, dependable and always willing to do whatever the team needs to win. Over the years, he's proven himself at every level of the game and this call-up is a reflection of the work he's put in throughout his career."

Roldan is one of 12 returning players from the 2022 World Cup roster. He joins Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps) and Weston McKennie (Juventus) as the only defensive midfielders, meaning Roldan could make his debut World Cup appearance.

Pochettino cautioned media that the roster isn't cemented. The FIFA deadline to submit the maximum 26-player team is June 1 and changes are limited to injury replacements.

The USMNT will travel to Georgia to begin prep Wednesday for the quadrennial tournament. They'll play a pair of friendlies against Senegal (Sunday) and Germany (June 6) then move to their base camp in Irvine, Calif.

The team is in Group D and will play their World Cup opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on June 12. Their second group-stage match is June 19 against Australia at Lumen Field (which will be called Seattle Stadium). The Stars and Stripes close group play against Turkey on June 25 in Inglewood.

"This World Cup is very different from the last one," Roldan said. "Being on home soil, being older, having a family, having a daughter, someone to represent. Then the pressure and excitement of being able to play in both of my hometowns. It is a dream come true, best-case scenario for me."

Here's the full roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire; 0 caps, Naperville, Ill.), Matt Freese (New York City FC, 14, Wayne, Pa.), Matt Turner (New England Revolution, 53, Park Ridge, N.J.)

DEFENDERS (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew, 18 caps/1 goal, Fresno, Calif.), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED, 37/2, Almere, Netherlands), Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP, 15/2, Plantation, Fla.), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA, 27/0, Bear, Del.), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC, 80/1, St. Louis, Mo.), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG, 36/3, Birmingham, Ala.), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG, 52/4, Liverpool, England), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati, 38/3, Arlington, Mass.), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER, 24/0, Lake Grove, N.Y.), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO, 6/0, Media, Pa.)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth/ENG, 52/2, Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps, 11/1, Columbus, Ohio), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA, 64/12, Little Elm, Texas), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER, 36/9, Bedford, N.Y.), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders, 45/0, Pico Rivera, Calif.), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER, 28/3, Fürth, Germany)

FORWARDS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG, 57/9, Medford, N.J.), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA, 25/8, London), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED, 35/13, El Paso, Texas), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA, 84/32, Hershey, Pa.), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille/FRA, 49/7, Rosedale, N.Y.), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG, 20/7, Los Angeles). Alejandro Zendejas (Club América/MEX, 13/2, El Paso, Texas)

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 4:51 PM.