Max Arfsten knows nothing is guaranteed, especially a spot on the United States’ World Cup roster.
It was just last January when the 24-year-old received his first call-up to represent the U.S. at any level. Since then, national team coach Mauricio Pochettino has selected Arfsten for all six of Team USA’s 2025 camps, and Arfsten has produced one goal and five assists through 16 games.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” Arfsten said. “I feel like I was learning a lot, just kind of along the way, through experiencing it for the first time. But I’m super thankful for it, and it just makes me even hungrier to keep striving for these call-ups.”
Arfsten said he had the “pretty traditional American kid” experience growing up in Fresno, California, in that he played multiple sports. By age 13, however, he was fully committed to soccer, thanks to the 2014 World Cup.
For Arfsten, watching the U.S. draw 2-2 against a stacked Portugal squad en route to the knockout stage of the tournament allowed him to envision someday being on the same stage as Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey.
“I was like, this is the ultimate dream, to play in a World Cup for the USA,” Arfsten said. “That’s why it’s an honor, and I just want to keep doing it because it’s a good feeling when you play for the USA.”
Arfsten first played for the USMNT when he started on the backline during a friendly against Venezuela on Jan. 18, 2025. He made an impression on Pochettino and so was selected as a replacement player for the Concacaf Nations League games in March. Arfsten said he lacked confidence throughout that camp, though.
He was left on the bench in a 1-0 loss to Panama, and in the 2-1 defeat against Canada, he failed to contest forward Tani Oluwaseyi’s goal that put the USMNT behind midway through the first half.
Arfsten returned to MLS play, uncertain about his future with the national team.
“I think the thing that made it tough was just the fact that we lost both games in that fashion,” Arfsten said. “And not knowing if [Pochettino] was going to want to change a lot of who was there and who wasn’t.”
Given that, Arfsten committed to earning time with the national team through his performances for the Crew. It motivated him during the two months before the June camp, and he had one of his strongest stretches in Columbus.
Arfsten had two goals and three assists to help the Crew go 5-1-1. That earned him a spot as one of 26 invitees to the longest camp of the year, running over a month due to the Concacaf Gold Cup.
At the Gold Cup, Arfsten finally started to believe he truly belonged in a U.S. jersey.
“I’m at my best when I’m not too high or too low,” Arfsten said. “Not getting too down on myself, maybe when I have a bad game or the game doesn’t go how I want it to go. … I’m at my best when I kind of keep the main thing, and stick to my routine and just stay levelheaded, whether it’s on the field emotionally, or off the field, with things going on with my life.”
The U.S. made it to the Gold Cup final before losing to Mexico 2-1, and Arfsten’s performance in the tournament (a goal and three assists) showed Pochettino something.
“His character, his personality, the characteristics, how he’s like as a player – I see a combo that we really love,” Pochettino said in September. “He’s a very intelligent, very smart guy. From day one, I think the chemistry was very good between him and us. I think his potential is massive.”
Will Max Arfsten play for the USMNT at the 2026 World Cup?
There is no shying away from the fact that Arfsten’s sights are set on making the 2026 World Cup team.
“It’s good for me to have a goal that I’m chasing,” Arfsten said. “Every single day, it’s in the back of my mind, whenever I train with Columbus or play in a game with Columbus.”
While he’s a top contender to make the squad, Arfsten acknowledges a lot can happen over the next three months.
More immediately, as the Crew are early into the 2026 MLS season, Arfsten is focused on quickly adapting to coach Henrik Rydstrom’s new system.
Failing to do that could undo all the work Arfsten has put in the last 13 months.
“I don’t want to talk about the World Cup like it’s guaranteed I’m going to go,” Arfsten said. “I just need to take it day-by-day, not think too much into the future, take care of what I need to take care of. I know it sounds cliche and maybe a lot of people say that, but I do think it’s true. I just got to stack good days.”
bmackay@dispatch.com
@brimackay15
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: ‘The ultimate dream’: Max Arfsten continues aiming for U.S. World Cup spot
Reporting by Brianna Mac Kay, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
