Tomorrow big game for Arfsten and team USA( ranked 16th in the world), they play Germany( ranked 10th( in the world at Soldier stadium.

Arsten's added bio. The California native has earned 16 caps (13 starts) for the USMNT, recording one goal and five assists since making his debut against Venezuela in 2025.

Arfsten's five assists in 2025 are the most registered by a USMNT player in a calendar year since 2019, according to the Columbus Crew's official website.

GO USA and Arfsten!!!!!

If you want to delve into how good Arsten is and how important he might be today against Germany and in the entire World Cup tourney here is an excellent YouTube with Max

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36K1nJhUjCI

Go USA go Max!!!!

Bummer Germany 2 USA 1. A close game which means team USA should be competitive all the way through the tourney. Germany 4 times champs is a European heavy weight.

Player ranking of Arfsten from the pundits.

Max Arfsten (72'): 5

Came on for Tim Ream with 18 minutes to go, allowing Auston Trusty to move centrally. Didn't provide his usual attacking flair, failing to connect with his two crosses and unable to lift the forward line from his wing-back position.

Score not as high as the first game. USA opens in about 6 days.

1 Day to Max and team USA open.

Here is a great article by UCB writer and stats dude, on Why the USA falls short in mens soccer.

https://www.natesilver.net/p/why-isnt-the-us-better-at-soccer

Arfsten shines as a final-third threat. He is a force for scoring and assisting. Looking up his stats for this year they include: Recording 4 goals and 4 assists in just 15 MLS starts, he scores exceptionally high for goal-scoring frequency among left wingbacks globally. His 77 total crosses and 14 chances show that. [

Max has elite speed and is a threat with either foot. I would think that Max will be subbed to bring in an attacking edge not if they are seeking to lock down the defense.

It will be a great start if the USA wins their first match in the pool to get 3 points.

USA rolls to a dominating 4-1 win. Max does NOT see the pitch. There are several more games to see if Max gets his number called.

NPR's take on Max--he received NO stars out of 3 and here is that bio.

Name: Max Arfsten

Age: 25

Hometown: Fresno, Calif.

Club team: Columbus Crew (MLS)

The 6-foot-1 winger made his USMNT debut in January 2025, playing in 16 of 18 matches that year. He was drafted by the Columbus Crew in 2023 after playing collegiately at UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton. At UC Davis, he attended as a walk-on, earning a scholarship and being named to the Big West All-Freshman team. The Fresno native returns home to train, saying, "his Fresno upbringing fuels his motor and competitiveness on the pitch." Equally comfortable playing with his right and left foot, he's been featured in many USMNT matches in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup and is expected to see playing time.

What an amazing journey for Max from being a walk-on at Davis to making the USA World Cup Team.

after playing collegiately at UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton. — Jackbacker2

Really? I wasn't aware he played at Fullerton.

I did some checking and I believe the Fullerton reference is internet or AI dribble. Here is a good summary of Max's background.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2025

Named to the MLS All-Star team.

2024

Played in 31 games for Columbus, scoring four goals. Finished 2nd in the East, exiting the playoffs in round one.

2023

Drafted by the Columbus Crew, playing in 12 games and scoring twice. Won MLS Cup with the Crew.

2022

Joined the San Jose Earthquakes II in MLS Next Pro, playing in 24 games.

YOUTH AND COLLEGE
Developed in the California Odyssey program. Played 39 games with eight goals over three seasons with UC Davis.

Looking forward to seeing if Max makes the pitch in the next 2 games!

A nice article from the ICA department about Max. Truly special when an Aggie can work his way to the highest level of their sport!!!

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2026/6/12/mens-soccer-from-aggie-soccer-field-to-the-world-cup-max-arfstens-road-ran-through-davis.aspx

The big game tomorrow is Australia winner against Turkiye 2-0 vs USA. These are the 2 leaders in their bracket with 3 points each.

Pundits are calling for a physically tough game, with Australia. While USA is favored due to ranking these World Cup games are always tough and upsets abound even more than our March Madness.

Will Arfsten see playing time. Perhaps, he is a scoring threat with crosses that can lead to goals when Australia is playing a defensive shell. While he has speed he might not see the pitch if the game is tied or if the USA is up by one. If Max plays a great shot for him to get an assist.

Should be a great game with a loud rowdy crowd.

The game is on Fox at noon.

Therefore, should we root against USA to increase the chances that Max Arfsten plays? Or should we root for USA?

A big win for the USA or a large lead on Friday will increase the chances of Max getting playing time.

Here is a fine YouTube about Max and is prepping the rest of bracket play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRvRFK3SDAM

USA WINS
Only bummer Max did not play. We will see if he makes his debut against Turkey. If Paraquaya wins then the USA is the winner out of the bracket and will stay on the West Coast for the round of 32, 16 and 8. I think the best chance of seeing Max play happens if the Paraquaya wins or draws and the results against Turkey. If this happens then the USA is the winner of the bracket.

The game against Turkey is the best chance for Max to play.

Here is predicted line up for USMNT

Predicted USMNT Lineup (4-2-3-1) ( Fox sports info)
Goalkeeper: Matt Turner
Defenders:Max Arfsten, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson,Midfielders: Sebastian Berhalter, Cristian Roldan
Attackers: Brenden Aaronson, Gio Reyna, Alex Zendejas (or Haji Wright), Ricardo PepiKey

Details & ContextYellow Card Safety: Starters on yellow cards (like Christian Pulisic) will be rested to avoid suspension risks for the knockout rounds.

Match Time: Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 7:00 PM local time at SoFi Stadium.

I'm not really liking the format of having head-to-head make the third game irrelevant, but it is a bright spot that Max and other depth players like him will almost assuredly get minutes. And with a week of prep hopefully it's a better showcase of his potential upside here than say at the end of a blowout.

He's making good money now but his MLS contract is up in two years, wonder how much the allure of a WC appearance and hopefully solid minutes will help him in free agency or negotiation.

If Max plays well he might be transferred to a top European club team. A large portion of that money would go to the Columbus Crew, and he would see a pay bump but typically double their salary with a signing bonus or around 10%.

On the internet Max makes between 800,000 to 900,000 a year for the Crew.

Short video about his attacking prowess.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1US0KHn4SGI

No start for Max. Booooo!!!

Man, 0 minutes for Max tonight.

And USA loses. Lame.

Double bummer-loss and NO Max. I think that Max will NOT see the pitch at any game, but I will hope for more USA wins and Max getting on the pitch.

Was hoping he would get in the game with the game not mattering to us and us heavily rotating the squad, even if it was just as a substitute.

Here is the projected line up.

USA projected starting 11

(4-2-3-1, right to left): 24. M. Freese (GK) — 16. A. Freeman, 3. C. Richards, 13. T. Ream, 5. A. Robinson — 4. T. Adams, 17. M. Tillman — 2. S. Dest, 8. W. McKennie, 10. C. Pulisic — 20. F. Balogun

Injured: Roldan (calf), Trusty (ankle)
Suspended: None
The USMNT is largely at full strength, with the first-team players having been rested in the final group stage match against Turkey since the result had no effect on their standing.

There are two players struggling with injuries, but both are backups. Cristian Roldan missed the match against Turkey due to a calf injury and has missed more training since, while Auston Trusty turned his ankle in the group finale and could miss some time.

Yellow card tallies reset after the group stage in this new format, meaning the likes of Tyler Adams and Folarin Balogun are back to the drawing board with everyone else. The next reset is not until after the quarterfinals, so World Cup players will have to avoid two bookings across the next three games to be in the clear.

I just do NOT think Max will see the field today, with their being only 5 subs. GO USA

USA wins no Max.

The USA will play Belgium in Seattle at 5 pm next Monday, July 6th. Unfortunately, we will be playing without Balogun for this game because of the red card.

Not sure if Max will play but I believe he will prepare to play. With Balogun out and some injuries the team has a smaller number of players on their squad.

I was very excited about the win. Seattle will crazy loud on Monday!

That was a bogus red card on Balogun. Two players coming together suddenly and jostling for the ball and Balogun inadvertently steps on the other player's ankle. The ref allowed lots of pulling shirts, grabbing and hard fouls without even pulling out his yellow card but gives Balogun a red card when the player cut in front on him and Balogun steps on the back of his ankle inadvertently...no intent to commit a dangerous foul by Balogun...just two players getting tangled up in the action...lousy call...

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49244156/world-cup-var-review-misapplied-protocols-leave-usmnt-folarin-balogun-wrongly-red-carded-world-cup-vs-bosnia-herzegovina

Here is nice story and has Coach Shaffer's thoughts on Max.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/former-coaches-cheer-usmnt-winger-011234648.html

Max gets his first world cup cap with 2 minutes of extra time. Bummer for the team in the butt kicking today. But for Max he will always be able to have earned a World Cup. Good for him and UCD soccer.