Soccer’s popularity in the United States certainly continues to grow: A recent Economist poll found that 10 percent of American sports fans now consider it their favorite sport, ahead of baseball and hockey. But while fan interest has surged, the country’s top athletes still overwhelmingly choose other sports: football, basketball and baseball, where most often, the money is the greatest.

But what if America looked more like South America, where the best athletes choose soccer first? Who would make this year’s 2026 FIFA World Cup for the USMNT? Using current stars in their primes, we built a hypothetical list for this year’s World Cup.

LeBron James

• Current sport: Basketball

Let’s start with one of the most used examples. LeBron James is a star athlete no matter what sport he chooses. In high school, he was once considered the top football prospect in the state of Ohio. He was a dominant receiver until he chose to focus all of his efforts on basketball. 

We know he’s on the golf course today, but James has toyed with the idea of playing soccer. After he won the NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, he said he’d be willing to throw on a kit and suit up for Liverpool, for whom he was a minority owner at the time. He has also had minority stakes in A.C. Milan. Soccer is clearly something on James’ radar, but did he ever consider playing it full-time?

Interestingly enough, his size would probably hinder him somewhat on the pitch. He has some of the best length and stride in basketball, and that would help him get up and down the field. His lower-body strength is insane, which is another huge help for James. He could do anything, but we think he’d want to play some defense on the soccer field, and he also wants to score. A midfielder who could strike in the offensive zone would be best for him, especially when he was at his peak. 

Lamar Jackson

Soccer needs speed to excel, but we can’t just pick the fastest guys and expect them to excel. It’s more than a 100-yard dash to be great on the pitch. There’s a lot that the brain needs to compute during a play to put yourself and the ball in the perfect position. There are few who do that at a higher level on the football field than Lamar Jackson. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback often has to throw the kitchen sink at a defense, and that’s been very reliable for him. 

Jackson would be a perfect attacking midfielder for any team with a little seasoning in soccer. The speed and precision with which he plays is second to none. He has this insane ability to get through traffic, which is arguably more important in soccer than football. The best players can dribble past a defender, which can lead to a breakaway towards the net. 

Jackson actually thinks he’d be great at soccer, too. He once said he could have been like Lionel Messi or Mbappe if he had committed to soccer. Obviously, there was a little bit of sarcasm in his declaration, but we do think he’d be one of the best athletes on the field. We’re not sure what his striking ability would be, but just about everything else would be elite. 

Noah Lyles

• Current sport: Track and field

We know we said that speed isn’t everything, but it’s very important in soccer. Noah Lyles would immediately become the fastest player on a soccer pitch. Being able to outrun everyone would act as an incredible advantage to Team USA. Lyles was the gold medal winner in the 100-meter dash at the Paris Olympics in 2024. That’s the event that makes the most sense for a soccer player to excel.

The one question we have for Lyles is his stamina. Soccer players can run as much as eight miles during a 90-minute game. Can Lyles keep up his speed in mile seven like he does during a race? He’d need to learn how to be smarter with his speed. That’s not the biggest deal in the world, but it is something to consider. 

Lyles would make a really good winger. That position requires top-end speed bursts to get past defenders, and if Lyles can learn to dribble, he’d be at the top of his sport at doing that one thing. If he could add cross-field passing to his skill set, he’d be an elite soccer player. We know American athletes make more money in football, baseball, and basketball, but he’d have to make more money during the non-Olympic years than he does in track, right?

Anthony Edwards

• Current sport: Basketball

One of the underrated necessary skills for a soccer player is a great first step. That first step happens dozens, if not hundreds, of times in a match. One must have a great first step to be a good soccer player, or they will be behind too often. The NBA requires a great first step, as well, especially for the players who rely on explosiveness. Anthony Edwards might be the best in the league at that first step. It’s how he’s gone from player to superstar so quickly. 

In soccer, Edwards would put defenders on their heels and have midfielders chasing him at all times. He could move from one direction to the other without losing speed, opening more and more opportunities for him and his teammates without the threat of going offside. His athletic profile showcases an ability to take on impactful pressure. 

Edwards makes sense as a winger, especially on the right side. He would want to find situations where he’d be one-on-one versus a defender, and that’s when he would snipe. He could easily get his opponent unbalanced, and that would lead to a big chance for his team. Transition explosiveness is as important in world-class soccer as it is in the NBA, and that will be on full display during the World Cup. 

Myles Garrett

We just talked about the first step and how important it was in the NBA and soccer. While true, there is no position in sports where a first step matters more than a pass rusher in the NFL. If a player gets a bad first step, then the offensive line is getting the advantage. However, as a player like Myles Garrett shows, that explosive first step at the snap of the ball can lead to records. 

Garrett literally broke the sack record last season despite being on the dreadful Cleveland Browns. Imagine if he was surrounded by this level of talent on a team? The obvious thought is that Garrett would play defense, most likely as center back, but his lower-body strength and sheer size might make him a good forward. 

At first glance, Garrett may not look like a traditional soccer athlete. Standing around 6-foot-4 and weighing over 270 pounds, he is much larger than most professional players. But his speed, explosiveness, and physical dominance are more valuable than ever. He’s also a, very literal, nice change of pace from the rest of the players on this squad. We’d seriously consider him on corner kicks to get above the opponents or knock them away, which would lead to scoring chances.

Ja’Marr Chase

From one football superstar to another, Ja’Marr Chase is the best wide receiver in the league because he found a way to turn his skills into production, and we’re confident he’d do the same thing on the pitch. Chase might actually project even more naturally to soccer than Myles Garrett because his athletic profile already resembles elite attacking players in world football.

Chase can get off the line with incredible speed, and he’d do the same coming from the midfield to an attacking position. Great soccer attackers need body control to finish difficult chances, adjust to passes, and operate in tight spaces. Chase already shows that kind of control every week in the NFL, whether he is tracking deep balls or making defenders miss.

Elite athleticism is missing on Team USA, and even with all these players added to the list, Chase is unique in his speed, acceleration, agility, and dominance one-on-one. It’s almost like Chase has the playbook while everyone else is guessing. On the soccer pitch, that is an interesting advantage. He has more options to distract and confuse defenders, which deepens his advantage. 

Bobby Witt Jr.

An elite shortstop is probably the easiest transition position to soccer. It might sound incorrect, but think about what’s expected of a shortstop: The greats can move from side to side with simplicity. They know how to take the right first step at the crack of the bat, and it helps add to their range and beat runners at all bases. 

Bobby Witt Jr. is the best of the best when it comes to shortstops. His coordination and lateral movement would transition perfectly into soccer. He wouldn’t be as offensive as some of the players on this list, but his skillset would eventually get him there. 

The most natural position for Witt would probably be central midfielder. He has the agility and instincts to cover ground all over the field while constantly reading the game. Shortstops have to anticipate plays before they happen and make difficult throws from awkward angles. Soccer midfielders operate the same way, processing movement and making split-second decisions under pressure. Witt would give the Americans the right amount of athleticism on the back end without sacrificing from their offensive front. 

Matthew Tkachuk

• Current sport: Ice hockey

Matthew Tkachuk might seem like a very strange option when looking at the others on this list. He’s not the supreme athlete that some of the football or basketball players are. He’s not considered the best player in his league, but he has a lot of competition from Canadians and Europeans. Heck, he doesn’t even play his sport on his feet. He plays on skates on an ice sheet. 

It doesn’t matter. His athletic profile matches perfectly with his mentality, which in soccer can lead him very far. While he isn’t allowed to punch anyone in the face like he can in the NHL, we’ve seen players thread the line between legal and illegal, and his tactics could lead to referees letting things go. If players are whining on the field too often, the yellow cards go away. Tkachuk can make that happen if he doesn’t go over the line.

His existence would always be a risk, as a red card would happen more often than we’d like to admit, but a defender who can get under the skin of his opponent every single time they have the ball would work so well with the rest of the athletes on this list. Tkachuk would dominate on the field and put players in a blender. You need a good mix on the field to win in the World Cup.

Caeleb Dressel

We talked about the need for endurance in the sport of soccer. The only sport that might require more endurance is swimming. Getting into the pool and dominating takes a certain level of lung strength, and that same ability to control your breathing and dominate from an endurance standpoint is soccer. You need to remain great from the first minute to the 90th minute, and you need an extra gear to do so in extra time. 

Caeleb Dressel is known for his explosiveness, especially off the blocks. Being able to go from 0 to 100 like that is another skill that transitions to soccer. Can he use that lower-body strength on the pitch as he does off the blocks and in the pool? We think so. 

On top of everything, his elite body positioning would be tops in the sport. Understanding how every muscle works would make him a great player and enable him to juke past opposing players. We think he would work as a midfielder, although we’re not sure he would be used to touching the ball all the time. A lot of soccer is trying to get into a better position by getting your opponent in the wrong position. This is where we think Dressel would excel.

Aaron Judge

This one is going to come off a little strange, but Aaron Judge would be amazing at soccer. He would just have to be the goalie. 

One of the greatest power hitters in the history of baseball can’t translate that skill to soccer. There’s no real equivalent to smashing a baseball with a bat and seeing it race 115 mph to centerfield. However, his play in the field does translate to the goaltender position. Judge stands at 6-foot-7, which already fills a ton of the net. He has been one of the best players in the league at robbing home runs, taking away nine since joining the league. That’s more than anyone else since 2018. 

He’s not a one-trick pony in the field, either. Judge can dive to make outs and steal bases as good as any big man in history. All of these skills would make him a great goalie. His instincts help him get to balls quickly, and we could see his massive frame and incredible agility enhancing Team USA’s status. Would he help them be a World Cup favorite? We know Team USA could sorely use him in net this tournament.

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