'Do something special'

Maurice Edu

Mic'd Up: Apple TV broadcaster Maurice Edu backed the U.S. for success on home soil and brushed off criticisms of the manager's squad selection.

For Maurice Edu, it finally feels real. The World Cup is like a countdown for the former USMNT midfielder. He experienced the build up as a fan, as a player, and now, as a broadcaster for Apple TV. The tournament once felt so far away. Now it's right up in everyone's face.

"We've been having a countdown for how long? 100 days out, 150 days out, two months out... June 11 is around the corner, bro. I don't know how much more really gets until we hear that first whistle," he tells GOAL.

And if there needed to be any more evidence - other than the fact that Mexico plays South Africa in exactly two weeks - we now have a string of World Cup rosters out there. The U.S.'s leaked last Saturday and was officially unveiled on Tuesday. Mauricio Pochettino has picked his 26 for this summer. Edu likes what he sees - especially given the depth of attacking talent.

"I'd rather look at my bench and say, 'Sh*t, I got four different guys that are creative players,' not just strikers, but I got three or four players that can come in and try to create in the final third," he adds.

Among the big names included was Gio Reyna, so often a polarizing presence for the side. Pochettino has backed him - and Edu is in full agreement.

"I would bring him, and I know it'd be controversial. I know people would feel some kind of way, because he hasn't been playing [and] he's had a lot of injuries. But with 26 men on your roster, you can get another attacking piece in, a guy who's different, a guy who you know doesn't shy away from wanting the responsibility in big moments," he says.

And now, the focus is on performance. Many have put specific benchmarks out there: get out of the group, win a knockout game, win two. Edu just wants to be inspired.

"As we anoint this generation of players a golden generation, whatever you want to call them, with that comes expectation, and I want to see them do something special," he says.

That might be a tough ask. But World Cups are special things, and Edu, who played at one and has covered three others, is ready for the twists and turns to come. The former USMNT midfielder talked about the U.S.'s roster, Gio Reyna, and the 2010 World Cup in Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL taps into the perspective of analysts, announcers, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad. 

NOTE: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Mauricio Pochettino

ON THE USMNT ROSTER

GOAL: To start, we now have a complete USMNT roster. What are your thoughts?

EDU: The way it's structured, the positions, the tactics, and the formation are more of a 3-4-3. You have five natural center backs, and you have two other players who can play at center back. It's a defender-heavy roster, not much in midfield, and then a decent amount of attacking players. When I did my little mock roster, I had [Diego] Luna making it, but I also had Gio [Reyna] making it. If I'm a coach, I'd rather gamble. I'd rather take the gamble on having more attacking pieces. You get to a knockout stage game, and let's say it's a deadlock, and you need someone who can unlock that door. It's

I know a lot of the surprise and shock has been about Tanner Tesman and Diego Luna, but here we are. This is a roster...Now it's more about how this group comes together these next two games, builds some chemistry, builds some momentum going into that first game against Paraguay.

FBL-WC-2026-US-SQUAD

ON GIO REYNA

GOAL: What do you make of the Gio Reyna inclusion?

EDU: I would bring him, and I know it'd be controversial. I know people would feel some kind of way, because he hasn't been playing, [and] he's had a lot of injuries. But with 26 men on your roster, you can get another attacking piece in, a guy who's different, a guy who you know doesn't shy away from wanting the responsibility in big moments. I know we haven't seen him play a ton with the national team or with his club team in this last cycle, but when it comes down to it, I want to give myself the best chance possible of winning. Now, of course, there's going to be either a lot of praise or a lot of backlash, depending on how this team does.

If he never plays a single minute, some other people will say, "Well, this is where Diego Luna could have been" or somebody else could have been there on that roster to play. Coaches live and die by the decisions...Ultimately, the biggest assessment is going to come based on how this team performs.

FBL-MEX-AMERICA-PUMAS

ON ALEJANDRO ZENDEJAS

GOAL: Are there any last-minute surprises for you? I know a lot of people had highlighted Alejandro Zenedejas as one

EDU: I'm happy about that one. The kid deserves it. I was happy to see Zendejas be a part of the group. The guy's been killing it at the biggest club in this region, wearing the captain's armband at times, been the best performer for that team, and just been overlooked in the last few windows.

It kind of stays consistent with my thought process on how you go further in tournaments as another player in the attacking third, a creative player, a left-footed player, gives you something different. So I like his inclusion. I'm sure it was a surprise for people, but I like it.

United States v Belgium - International Friendly

ON THE WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN

GOAL: We're two weeks away. Does the World Cup feel real now?

EDU: It does, because we've been having a countdown for how long? 100 days out, 150 days out, two months out... June 11 is around the corner. I don't know how much more really gets until we hear that first whistle. We're at the final window of international games before it kicks off, and rosters are getting released. We know the 26 that are going [for the USMNT].

So now we can focus on 'OK, who's our best 11?' You'd better see that the next two games, and allow them to build some chemistry, build some cohesion. By June 12, against Paraguay, as soon as that date arrives, everything is null and void. I don't care about anything else. Seriously, I don't care about anything else. All I care about is June 12 - are these guys prepared? Can this team walk out and put on a performance that gets three points? I don't care if it's scrappy. I don't care if it's a fluke deflection that leads to them winning one-nil, or if it's an own goal, but when that first whistle blows, are they ready when that final whistle blows? Have we walked away with three points and put ourselves in a great position to kick off this tournament?

World Cups are about growth; it's not about what happens on day one, but day one plays a role. Most teams you want [them] to grow into a tournament, and so if you can start the tournament off winning that first game on home soil, that goes a long way. So that's the telling point. That's when the real assessment, the analysis, really starts to play a role, because this is a stage that we've all been preparing for. It's for these players to arrive at this stage and be in a position to go out there and succeed.

United States v Portugal - International Friendly

ON EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TOURNAMENT

GOAL: And what are you hoping to see from the U.S.? Beyond just a certain benchmark, what would make you happy?

EDU: The U.S. on the men's side has only ever won one knockout round game....When people say "inspire this country," it's not always quantitative. You can inspire this nation by winning games every game convincingly 2-0. You can inspire this nation by just getting through your group stage as winners. You can inspire this nation by getting to a quarterfinal or a semifinal. For me, yeah, I want to see them raise the bar continuously. So that means winning two knockout games.

In 2010, when we were in South Africa, we were a play away from being kicked out of the tournament in the group stage, and then Landon Donovan scores a goal, we go on to the next round. The way that we were able to connect with the fans and feel that support, even though most of them were miles and miles away on a different continent... You could feel that just via social media and different outlets. Now that energy that I'm talking about, that connection, that builds with every game, with every result, with every step of the way. It's gonna surround you, because you're in the market, you're in your home country.

I say all that to say that the power of support and fans and playing on home soil is palpable. And if this group could get into a quarterfinal, and I know it'll be against a tougher opponent, their confidence will be at an all-time high. Their belief, hopefully, the momentum and the energy that the team will have within them, plus that of the supporting country, will give them a little bit of swag and belief. And why not?

United States World Cup Roster Reveal

ON THE IMPACT OF THE TOURNAMENT

GOAL: And what do you hope the legacy will be?

EDU: I hope that the spin-off is something that when this tournament finishes, we all look back and go, "this group did something that turned casual fans into passionate fans." The next generation watching on, was like, I'm wearing an NBA jersey, but I'm switching that for a soccer top. I hope that there's that kind of passion and conversion on all levels that just leads to more investment at every level in MLS and NWSL in at the youth grassroots level to where people start thinking this is a sport that needs to be fully ingrained in our culture and our communities the same way that the NFL, the NBA is, or more so the same way that this sport is across the rest of the world.