USMNT forced to adjust as key defensive injuries open door for experimentation vs. Belgium, Portugal

Steven GoffFri, March 27, 2026 at 9:07 PM UTC

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MARIETTA, Ga. — With the World Cup on the horizon, the U.S. backline has failed to coalesce as well as other areas in Mauricio Pochettino’s roster arrangement.

And now, heading into massive tests against Belgium on Saturday and Portugal on Tuesday, injuries to two regulars are complicating Pochettino’s plans and opening opportunities for experimentation.

Chris Richards — the team’s best center back and as close to a certain World Cup starter as almost anyone invited to this nine-day camp — is experiencing knee issues and will probably miss both Mercedes-Benz Stadium friendlies.

Miles Robinson, who started three of the previous four matches, suffered a groin injury and “for sure” is out of the two games, Pochettino said Friday.

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The remaining center backs are Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty. Late last year, Pochettino showed more confidence in playing with three center backs and two wing backs after using a standard four-man set-up with two center backs for much of his tenure.

The U.S. did not concede more than one goal during the five-game unbeaten streak against World Cup-bound teams that ended the 2025 schedule. But the unsettled backline has shown cracks the past year and could become vulnerable in meaningful matches this summer.

While Robinson’s ailment seems straightforward, Richards’ injury is murky.

Pochettino said it’s a “difficult situation to assess and to explain” after Richards was cleared by his Premier League club, Crystal Palace, to report to U.S. camp last weekend.

“He reported Monday some problems in his knee,” Pochettino continued. “After we were assessing him, he was training some part Tuesday, but he cannot finish Wednesday. He now feels something in his knee. We hope it is nothing important, but for tomorrow he is out, and I don't believe he can [play] Tuesday. We can assess him [whether] to take [the] risk or not to take [the] risk.”

This camp is the final assembly before Pochettino names his 26-man World Cup squad on May 26. Friendlies against Senegal and Germany will follow, then the U.S. will begin Group D play June 12 against Paraguay in Inglewood, California.

The center back partnership is perhaps the one area on any team that requires the greatest stability. For the U.S., it’s anything but that right now.

At 38, Ream has shown his age for Charlotte in this early Major League Soccer season. Robinson hasn’t been at his best for Cincinnati. A consistent starter for Scottish club Celtic, Trusty has not played much lately because of a red card suspension. McKenzie has been a solid performer for French club Toulouse.

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There was no immediate indication Pochettino would summon replacement players before the Portugal match.

The absence of top center back Chris Richards due to injury complicates USMNT's final World Cup preparations. (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF via Getty Images)

With all these issues, Pochettino suggested he will experiment in these two friendlies, citing defensive midfielder Tanner Tessmann, who has occasionally lined up on the backline for French club Lyon. Alex Freeman and Joe Scally, natural right backs and wing backs, could also shift to the backline in three-man arrangements.

“We need to see all the options we can have because these types of circumstances can happen” at the World Cup, Pochettino said.

USMNT’s wider pool issues: Noahkai Banks and other absences

The injury situation unfolded after Noahkai Banks, a 19-year-old center back enjoying a breakthrough season for Augsburg in the Bundesliga, withdrew from camp consideration weeks ago. It bought him time to continue weighing whether to commit long term to the U.S. or switch allegiance to Germany.

Born in Hawaii to multinational parents and raised in Germany, he rose through the U.S. junior system and in September reported to the senior squad for the first time. (He did not debut because of injury, Pochettino said.)

By skipping an opportunity to face two of Europe’s best teams in Atlanta, Banks has clearly damaged his U.S. World Cup outlook this summer. (It’s also probably too late for Germany, which boasts greater roster depth than the U.S.)

Other center backs in Pochettino’s player pool include 2022 World Cup starter Walker Zimmerman (Toronto FC) and 2025 MLS defender of the year Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps). Cameron Carter-Vickers, Trusty’s Celtic teammate and a 2022 World Cup member, has been ruled out after rupturing an Achilles’ tendon last fall.

Pochettino said he does not plan on experimenting at the start of these two friendlies because “we have players to use in those positions.”

However, “this is a great opportunity trying to do things, testing players, testing situations but keeping high the competition and competing very well.”

Thanks to a new FIFA rule, Pochettino will have ample opportunity. Once limited to six substitutions in friendlies, teams can now use eight and, if both coaches agree, up to 11. (Pochettino and Belgium’s Rudi Garcia have agreed, a U.S. spokesman said. The limit for the Portugal match hasn’t been set yet.)

The setbacks to Richards and Robinson add to a notable list. Because of current or recent injuries, PSV Eindhoven right back Sergiño Dest (hamstring), Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams (quadriceps), Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna (knee) and Coventry City forward Haji Wright (groin) were ruled out before the squad was selected.

If healthy, Dest and Adams are certain of going to the World Cup, while Luna and Wright have strong cases.

What are the Americans aiming to accomplish in these two matches, which are expected to draw more than 60,000 fans apiece?

“I just want to be able to see us competing, giving what we can and executing what we work on in training, having a clear plan [and] understanding as a team,” midfielder Weston McKennie said. “With the past camps in the fall, we were all working towards a common goal, a common understanding of what we need to do, what we want to accomplish, and that's the thing we want to see this week.”

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Source: “AOL Sports”