USMNT stock watch: Folarin Balogun, Christian Pulisic on way up; Weston McKennie falling

Heading into the first international break with Gregg Berhalter back in charge of the United States men's national team, the roster for facing Uzbekistan and Oman is both familiar and different at the same time. Without World Cup qualifiers to play in the buildup for 2026, it's a unique opportunity for Berhalter to try out new things in low-pressure situations while working through a deep roster pool. With tougher friendlies around the corner in October versus Ghana and Germany, the team has quite an opportunity to increase their stock before Nations League matches in November but a baseline is needed heading into those.

With expectations rising for the national team by the day, spots can't be guaranteed for anyone and there also are more competitions where Berhalter needs to utilize more players as the squad can't play every match. Let's take a look at where some players are heading into camp:

Stock up: The newcomers

For an uncapped player, there's no bigger moment than your first chance at a national team cap. Everyone has to start somewhere and for a few players, this could be the start of a long national team career. Dual nationals Kristoffer Lund and Ben Cremaschi may be young but they have the talent to break into the team in the long haul as Berhalter continues his successful run of convincing dual nationals of the project that the USMNT are putting together. While that may be easier to do with a World Cup on home soil, it still takes clear communication with players and a juggling act that Berhalter doesn't get enough credit for.