Los Angeles’ Haji Wright and Pico Rivera’s Cristian Roldan will represent the United States at the 2026 World Cup and play at least two matches just miles from they where they grew up.
The Team USA teammates with Southern California ties were named to the 26-player roster revealed Tuesday in New York City. The tournament will be a homecoming for Wright and Roldan, who will be playing two of three group stage games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Here’s what to know about Wright and Roldan.
About Haji Wright
Wright, 28, was born in Los Angeles, where he grew up admiring France national and Arsenal great Thierry Henry, but ranks Kobe Bryant as his all-time favorite athlete.
The forward made his international debut in June 2022 against Morocco and got right to work, becoming the 56th USMNT player to score in his first appearance. Wright scored from the penalty spot after he was handed the ball from 2026 World Cup roster-mate Christan Pulisic.
Wright played in all four matches at the 2022 World Cup and scored a memorable 76th-minute goal against the Netherlands in Qatar, flicking on a pass from Pulisic into the net. The United States lost the Round of 16 game, 3-1.
At the club level, Wright plays for English second-tier side Coventry City, where he has been scoring at a healthy clip. Wright has 18 goals and a pair of assist in 43 appearances. Wright made the move to England after a stint with Antalyaspor in Turkey, where he scored 14 goals in 32 matches, including eight goals in seven appearances during a six-week stretch.
Wright also played at FC Schalke 04 in Germany, VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands, and Sonderjyske in Denmark.
His first pro contract was with the New York Cosmos before signing for FC Schalke 04 at 18.
About Cristian Roldan
Roldan, 30, will be playing in his second World Cup this summer. In addition to two games at SoFi Stadium, the midfielder will play a third group stage game at Lumen Field, home to his long-time MLS Club the Seattle Sounders.
Roldan has been with the Sounders since 2015, helping the team to a Concacaf Champions Cup in 2022, two MLS Cups and a Leagues Cup. Roldan earned his first-ever MLS Best XI selection in 2025.
The Sounders captain made his international debut in 2017. He has 45 caps and helped the United States win two Gold Cup titles.
Roldan played two seasons at the University of Washington.
In high school, Roldan led El Rancho High School to the Southern Section Division III title and a 29-2-1 record. As a senior, he had 54 goals and 31 assists.
About the 2026 World Cup
The World Cup begins on June 11, 2026 with Mexico playing the opener in Mexico City and co-hosts USA and Canada hosting their openers in Los Angeles and Toronto a day later.
The group stage lasts until June 27, then the top two teams in each group along with the eight best third-place finishers will advance to the Round of 32 beginning on June 28.
The remaining winning teams will then play in the Round of 16 starting on July 4. The quarterfinals will be held on July 9, and the semifinals will be July 14 and July 15, leading up to the championship match at MetLife Stadium on July 19.
Venues and kick-off times for all 104 matches in the 48-team field were announced in December before the revealing of which teams will be in the tournament’s unprecedented 12 groups of four.
Andres Cantor picks his teams to look out for at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A final match schedule for June and July will be released in March after the remaining six World Cup slots are filled by qualifiers from the FIFA and European playoffs.
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood is one of the venues that will host the international soccer tournament. The sparkling spaceship-like structure opened in 2020 on the site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack. The stadium has a seating capacity of about 70,000, an artificial surface and a fixed roof.
There are five group stage matches at the stadium in Inglewood and three knockout phase games
June 12: USA v. Paraguay
June 15: Iran v. New Zealand
June 18: Switzerland v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
June 21: Belgium v. Iran
June 25: USA v. Türkiye
June 28: Round of 32 match
July 2: Round of 32 match
July 10: Quarterfinal
Other U.S. host cities are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle and the Bay Area.
Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey are Mexico’s host cities. Toronto and Vancouver will host matches in Canada.