The USMNT is riding high after a successful international window that sees the team riding a three game unbeaten run. In the most recent international break there have been clear winners and losers. The striker
picture is coming into focus with Florin Balogun and Haji Wright showing effectiveness in front of goal. A formation and tactics are being successfully implemented. Meanwhile, the team is showing a fighting spirit that has been latent under Mauricio Pochettino. However, the biggest winner might be Cristian Roldan, a 30 year-old MLS veteran who was much more easily dismissed than seriously considered for the national team until very recently.
It probably says a lot that in my days covering Atlanta United for Dirty South Soccer that I no doubt spilled countless megabits on backhanded compliments for the midfielder (whatever didn’t make it into those posts was discussed at length in the group chat and in now deleted tweets). Surely, something like “the Sounders came to Atlanta fully intending to play like cowards and embarrassed the league. Anchoring that strategy in midfield was Cristian Roldan, a player so talentless he only managed to shutdown Atlanta’s midfield turning overwhelming possession into an albatross of not being able to get the ball into the attacking third. He’s the kind of player whose game screams, ‘I went to college.’” Clever.
It would be fair to say that I was unfair about him. In the years since Roldan broke through with the Sounders he has played all over the pitch and done what was asked of him to fit different tactics or make room for players with different skill sets to find a place on the field along with him. As a midfielder he can play a box to box role and has the soccer IQ to both push an attack forward and track back to break up a counter defensively. He is a well rounded player that can win a ball in midfield and send a line breaking pass to the feet of a charging striker to totally change the complexion of a match in an instant.
For the USMNT, Roldan has made the odd Gold Cup roster and been selected for World Cup qualifying matches but never seemed to be a serious option to make the final roster. That seems to have changed both because of his skills but also what seems to be lacking for the USA heading into 2026. The midfield depth chart features players who are more technically gifted than Roldan. There’s no question about this and it’s the reason he plays in MLS and not for a team in the Champions League. That said, he might be a better option in the starting XI than players in various Ligas, Ligues, Series, and Prems.
His relentless work rate, aggression, and leadership seem to have been lacking in recent USMNT squads that have struggled to perform up to the level expected of them. Combinations of midfield partnerships has been good but unconvincing since the exciting group of young players that have featured for the national team began breaking through in Europe. This has rippled across the pitch as there are very talented players all over the field but no glue to pull everything together. Perhaps that horse has finally come into the stable.
As a veteran Roldan has a lot of experience in Concacaf playing in the CCL and Leagues Cup. Matches in those tournaments often devolve into something resembling dirty boxing with a soccer ball and the artes oscuras he’s been emersed in is unique among others in the player pool. Roldan is the kind of player that can make a huge play, like tugging down a German midfielder on a counter attack to preserve the goal difference in a 1-0 loss and earn a yellow card while the team emerges from a competitive World Cup group, that doesn’t show up in the box score.
Despite, or perhaps because of, playing in MLS, Roldan has developed into an impressive player. Recently, Mauricio Pochettino told the New York Times, “Cristian Roldan is an example of how if you want to build your perfect player; he has a little bit of everything.” There’s not much more of a justification for Roldan getting a chance to play in a World Cup than being complimented like that by a manager with experience in a Champions League final.
