Huge USMNT blow as first-team striker ruled out of the World Cup

Martin Macdonald

• 7 Apr 2026 14:01 CDT
• 2 min read

News

Mauricio Pochettino and the United States national team suffered a blow this week as it has been confirmed that striker Patrick Agyemang has been ruled out of the World Cup.

On Easter Monday, his club Derby defeated Stoke 2-0 in the English Championship, but he was struck down with injury not long before half-time.

Derby confirmed afterwards that the player had suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury.

"The club can confirm Patrick Agyemang suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury during the first half of the Sky Bet Championship fixture against Stoke City," the Rams said on Monday night.

"Patrick will be undergoing a further assessment of the injury later today. The club will provide Patrick with the highest level of medical care and rehabilitation throughout his recovery.

"Everyone at Derby County is fully behind Patrick at this difficult time and will continue to support him every step of the way.

"As a result of this injury, Patrick will unfortunately miss this summer’s FIFA World Cup. At this stage it would be wrong to put a timeline on his recovery.

"Further updates will be communicated in due course."

A blow for the USMNT

Few would have pointed to Agyemang as a key player for the USA ahead of the 2026 World Cup but he did feature in both of the recent friendlies in March - a 5-2 loss versus Portugal and a 2-0 loss versus Belgium.

Those were his first national team appearances since July of 2025 so he was clearly thought of by Pochettino as a player who could potentially make an impact at the tournament this summer.

Agyemang has six goals in 14 games for his country since making his debut last year, and has contributed 10 goals in 37 matches for Derby this season, as the Rams look to earn a playoff place.

As for who will start up front for the USA in their opening World Cup match against Senegal, there are a few options.

Battling with Agyemang would have been Monaco's Folarin Balogun, PSV's Ricardo Pepi and Coventry City's Haji Wright.

Talismanic forward Christian Pulisic has also played some of his best football for Milan this season while deployed as a centre-forward.

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