There were 19 total players selected for World Cup squads from the MLS Western Conference. Added to the 25 from the East, and four from the USL Champions and it puts 48 from U.S. soccer leagues. That’s good enough for 7th overall, above leagues from Türkiye, Netherlands, Portugal and Brazil.
We’ll break down player performances grouped by MLS team.
LAFC
Heung-Min Son (South Korea) F
One of the shocking under-performers in the team whose under-performance was shocking. His scoring malaise was definitely NOT cured; the World Cup also jinxed his assisting. Not starting him, regardless of form, in the final match was a head-scratcher.
Mathieu Choinière (Canada) D
I picked Choinière as a possible starter and impact player for the Maple Leafs. Shows what I know. He made one start against Switzerland, and got pulled after 58 minutes.
Stephen Eustáquio (Canada) A
He wore the captain’s armband. Put in 392 minutes over five games, starting four of them. Left everything on the pitch. Scored the winning goal in stoppage time over South Africa to give his country their first ever knockout win. Freaking legend.
Jacob Shaffelburg (Canada) C
Played 87 minutes over five games as a substitute. Great that he was on Marsch’s go-to list, but wasn’t quite at the level of a starter. He’s young, though. His time should come.
FC Dallas
Petar Musa (Croatia) C-
A son of Croatia, but in his adopted hometown of Dallas. Musa broke out in tears after scoring late in the first half to draw Croatia level with England. Sadly, that was the peak moment for him. He would play one more half, then spend the remainder of the tournament on the bench.
Herman Johansson (Sweden) n/a
Johansson was one of the three Swedish outfield players who didn’t play a minute.
Don Deedson Louicius (Haiti) C
Louicius started Haiti’s first game against Scotland, then came on as a substitute for the remaining two, playing 118 minutes in total.
Minnesota United
Carlos Harvey (Panama) C-
Harvey played 268 minutes over three starts, but much like the entire Panama team, just couldn’t deliver the goods. They were in a brutal group and held their own, as did Harvey.
James Rodríguez (Colombia) D
It was the worst kept secret that Rodríguez’s signing was a desperate attempt for him to get fit enough for this tournament. It worked well enough to get him on the team, but Rodrîguez’s performance was entirely underwhelming. He started all five matches, but never played more than 76 minutes. Rodríguez was released from the Loons on July 1.
Michael Boxall (New Zealand) B-
The veteran defender spent most of the 2026 season injured, but recovered enough to still make the squad. He got two starts, logging 206 minutes over the All-Whites’ three games. The one game he didn’t start, against Portugal, was a complete blowout.
Vancouver Whitecaps
Andrés Cubas (Paraguay) B
Cubas played every minute over five games for a Paraguay team that surprised everyone by advancing to a Round of 16 match. Cubas exemplified the Paraguay style, earning a yellow card and being a class-A shithouser.
Sebastian Berhalter (USA) B+
All in all, it wasn’t a terrible showing for Berhalter. He got to play in every match, but only started once. That game against Türkiye was his best, where he got an assist and a goal (and a YC).
Rayan Elloumi (Tunisia) n/a
The call-up was cool, but he never played. Shame, too.
San Diego FC
Aníbal Godoy (Panama) D
Godoy was the second oldest player on the oldest team at the tournament. He was on the team that played in the 2018 tournament. He started all three games in Russia, but here earned his 158th cap after coming on the field in garbage time against Ghana. That was it.
Carlos Dos Santos (Cape Verde) n/a
Obviously, when you have Vozinha in goal playing out of his mind, you’ll never get a shot. I’m certain Dos Santos didn’t care a jot, either.
Colorado Rapids
Lucas Herrington (Australia) D
The center defender played a total of 210 minutes in two starts in the Socceroos final two matches. Not bad for an 18 year-old. Unfortunately, he was given the burden of taking the fourth penalty of their shootout against Egypt, and sailed the shot over the crossbar. That was rough.
Portland Timbers
Finn Surman (New Zealand) C-
The towering Kiwi played every minute.
Real Salt Lake
Juan Sanabria (Uruguay) D+
Uruguay was another one of the World Cup disappointments. Sanabria didn’t exactly cover himself in glory either. He played 225 minutes on two starts, earning a yellow card.
Seattle Sounders
Cristian Roldán (USA) n/a
Was the only American outfield player to never touch the pitch. Though he trained with the squad and was available for some games, a lingering quad injury effectively sidelined him.
