Who is Rokas Pukštas? The potential USMNT wonderkid who comes from Olympic lineage

Martin Macdonald

• 4 Mar 2026 19:00 CST
• 4 min read

News

At the moment, United States men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino will be diligently watching every American player with the aim of naming the strongest squad possible for the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

As joint hosts, the pressure is on the United States and Pochettino to perform in front of their own fans, especially if this tournament is to have the transformative impact on soccer popularity that FIFA and US soccer bosses are hoping for.

There are superstars who will certainly make the cut like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, while lesser-known names like Alex Freeman and Diego Luna will be keen to impress.

However, Pochettino has a weapon at his disposal that not many soccer fans know about and it comes in the form of a young midfielder making waves in European football in Rokas Pukštas.

Born in Oklahoma, Pukstas is the son of two Olympic athletes who performed at the 2004 Games for Lithuania. His father, Mindaugas Pukštas, was a Lithuanian marathon runner who came 74th in his discipline in Athens. His mother, Zivile, had a successful career as a triple-jumper

Puktsas may only be 21, but he is already well-travelled and has experienced a multicultural upbringing due to being born in the USA to Lithuanian stock. At just 13, he left home to join Kansas City's academy and from there moved on to Barcelona's residency academy in 2020.

In 2021, he made the bold decision to move to Hajduk Split to eventually gain experience at senior level and that's exactly what he's done to emerge as a key player for the Croatian side who are gunning for their first league title in two decades.

Despite his Lithuanian ancestry, Pukstas has played for the United States at ever level apart from the senior team. At the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, he scored a goal against New Zealand.

It seems inevitable that he will be called up to the senior team, but could it happen in time for the World Cup?

"I'm a competitor", Pukštas said in an interview with FourFourTwo.

"I learned competitiveness very early. There were no given wins. Everything was a competition in my family, so to have two parents that were very successful in their respective sports, I think it really installed my mindset of discipline, of hard work.

"I remember I would want to beat my parents in something, let's say it's running around the house, and they would never let me win. So to have that, to have that growth mindset, to learn all these things young, I think it's really translated to my football now and my ability to adapt to struggles, because obviously, [in] football one week you're on top of the world, one week, you're nothing. So, I think one of my strengths is that I'm able to adapt because of the mindset that my parents installed in me when I was younger.

"My parents are very strict. They teach discipline. They're very direct. And I think that's the same mindset of people in Croatia. They're very direct."

It seems the youngster has a level head and a determination that may be of use to Pochettino. He says his mentality is what sets him apart from players his age.

"The mental part of the game, I'd say, is the most important, because, I've seen players who are better than me, but when it comes to when they get the opportunity to execute, they're not there mentally," he explains.

"I was never the top of my group, let's say technically, or in attributes, but I think my mentality helped me to go beyond my potential, what people thought of me and I'm never satisfied with that. I think that mentality is the most important."

USMNT call-up in the pipeline

Putkas speaks with reverence and respect regarding his parents and their Lithuanian heritage, but for him, he only ever wanted to represent the United States at soccer.

"It's always been the United States," the Hajduk midfielder confirmed.

"I feel American every time I put on that jersey. I have so much pride. So I'm very fortunate because I had the honour to rise from Under-15 to Under-23 so I've seen every single age group. So just to have that pathway through America, my heart's always with the US, of course.

"It would mean a lot [to win a first USMNT cap]. I'm preparing every single day to be able to execute with my club. And I know that those opportunities will come, so I'm doing everything I can to prepare now. So whenever I get the opportunity, I'm ready to step in.

"The players who made the transition from America to Europe early, such as Christian Pulisic, [Giovanni] Reyna, [Tyler] Adams, all these guys, I think that we've had similar paths, similar sacrifices. So, I'm excited to potentially share that locker room with them in the future and get their side of it."

Pukstas is a box-to-box midfielder and has earned a reputation for his impressive fitness levels. This season, he has six goals and three assists to his name, with Hajduk fighting for the title against perennial champions Dinamo Zagreb.

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