Roldan received his first U.S. Men’s National Team call-up under Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino last week. An impressive Club World Cup performance was followed by dominant MLS play and an exceptional Leagues Cup tournament, which led to the Sounders’ 3-0 win over Inter Miami. The 30-year-old Roldan has 37 USMNT caps and was part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad in Qatar.
MOVE FROM OUTSIDE INSIDE
Roldan’s move from outside mid to inside midfield resurrected his career. The switch took advantage of his speed, defensive skill, and more importantly, his ability to make line-breaking passes to free up teammates. Roldan’s ability to control the game from midfield is akin to that of an air traffic controller. A term Roldan credited his neighbor for giving him the acrunum.
Here is how Roldan performed in his first game back with the USMNT.
SOUTH KOREA SPEED TOO MUCH FOR USMNT
The speed, pace, and intricate passing of South Korea dominated the USMN team. LA FC midfield and former player under Pochettino when they were both at Tottenham, Son Heun-min had a brilliant first half in which he scored and assisted on a goal. Son played the lone striker in South Korea’s 5-4-1 formation, who overwhelmed Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1.
ROLDAN ENTERS THE GAME
Roldan entered the game in the 62nd minute and played to the left of Sebastian Berhalter in the midfield. He looked comfortable and took control of the tower if you will. He communicated with the backline and the attacking players in front of him. In his 28 minutes played, Roldan connected on 22 of 27 passes, made a sliding tackle to stop an attack, and had one blocked shot in the 79 minutes.
Roldan had 32 touches in 28 minutes, which shows the belief his teammates had in him and his ability to find open pockets in the midfield. His cross to Alex Freeman on the right side of the goal in the 86th minute was a clever cross that Freeman should have done more with. It was a favorable debut for Roldan and should earn him more minutes in the teams next game against Japan on September 9th.
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USMNT POST-GAME NOTES
- Tristan Blackmon made his USMNT debut.
- Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter made starts for the fourth consecutive match.
- Christian Pulisic, the most capped player on this roster, tied Chris Henderson for 31st on the USMNT’s all-time caps list (79).
- During the pregame broadcast on TNT, U.S. Soccer announced details for two matches during the November FIFA window. The U.S. Men’s National Team will face off against two South American countries in the lead-up to next summer’s World Cup: The USA will first host Paraguay, presented by Allstate, on Nov. 15 at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa. Three days later, USA-Uruguay, presented by New York Life, will be the USMNT’s return to Tampa for the first time since 2018. Click here for more details
– U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –
Match: United States Men’s National Team vs. Korea Republic
Date: September 6, 2025
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Sports Illustrated Park; Harrison, New Jersey
Attendance: 26,500
Kickoff: 5:00 p.m. ET
Weather: 72 degrees
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| KOR | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| KOR – Son Heung-min (Lee Jae-sung) | 18th minute |
| KOR – Lee Dong-gyeong (Son Heung-min) | 43 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-Matt Freese, 2-Sergiño Dest (16-Alex Freeman, 62), 4-Tyler Adams (24-Cristian Roldan, 62), 7-Diego Luna (17-Alex Zendejas, 71), 8-Sebastian Berhalter (6-Jack McGlynn, 79), 9-Josh Sargent (20-Folarin Balogun, 62), 10-Christian Pulisic, 13-Tim Ream (Capt.), 15-Tristan Blackmon, 18-Max Arfsten, 21-Tim Weah (3-Chris Richards, 62)
Substitutes not used: 12-Jonathan Klinsmann, 22-Roman Celentano, 11-Damion Downs, 14-Luca de la Torre, 19-Nathan Harriel
Head coach: Mauricio Pochettino
KOR: 21-Jo Hyeon-woo, 3-Lee Han-beom, 4-Kim Min-jae, 14-Kim Ju-sung (26-Kim Tae-hyeon, 83), 13-Lee Tae-seok, 22-Seol Young-woo (25-Jeong Sang-bin, 83), 24-Kim Jin-Gyu (23-Jens Castrop, 63), 8-Paik Seung-ho, 11-Lee Dong-gyeong (18-Lee Kang-in, 64), 10-Lee Jae-sung (17-Bae Jun-ho, 50), 7-Son Heung-min (Capt.) (19-Oh Hyeon-gyu, 63)
Substitutes not used: 1- Kim Seung-gyu, 12- Song Bumkeun, 20- Jun-Soo Byeon, 2- Lee Myung-jae, 5- Park Yong-woo, 15-Kim Moon-hwan, 9-Oh Se-hun, 16- Park Jin-seop, 6- Seo Min-woo
Head coach: Hong Myung-bo
Stats Summary: USA / KOR
Shots: 17 / 5
Shots on Goal: 5 / 4
Saves: 2 / 5
Corner Kicks: 6 / 3
Fouls: 8 / 4
Offside: 1 / 0
Misconduct Summary
| USA – Alex Zendejas (Caution) | 80th minute |
Officials:
Referee: Reon Radix (GRN)
Assistant 1: Zachari Zeegelaar (SUR)
Assistant 2: Clinton Hayward (BER)
Fourth Official: Shavin Greene (GUY)
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