Wright's World Cup over before it even began

[Getty Images] Haji Wright's disappointing 2026 World Cup campaign has come to an end following the United States defeat to Belgium in the last 16. And while the USA are left to ponder where it all went wrong in Seattle, Coventry supporters are left scratching their heads as to why Mauricio Pochettino even bothered to take striker Wright. Wright featured in two of USA's five matches and played for a combined total of just two minutes, coming on as a last-minute substitute against Australia and Belgium. Following a Championship title winning campaign - in which Wright scored 17 times - he touched the ball just twice at the World Cup. It was a no-doubt frustrating tournament for Wright which was a stark contrast to the role he played in Qatar 2022. Under Gregg Berhalter, Wright made his senior national team debut in June 2022 and was named in the winter World Cup squad just a few months later. Wright appeared in all four matches in Qatar, making one start and three substitute appearances, and played a total of 135 minutes. The USA exited the competition in the last 16 that year following a 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands, but Wright was their only scorer on that occasion. Fast forward to this summer and the USA had a lot of attacking options for this home World Cup. But Wright was still expected to be named in the 26-man squad based on his previous 19 caps, his successful club season at Coventry and Patrick Agyemang's absence due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. He was not widely expected to start for the USA, but many would have thought his cameos would have equated to more than just two minutes. Folarin Balogun is Pochettino's first choice striker, with the Monaco man playing a total of 314 minutes at the 2026 competition. PSV's Ricardo Pepi is second in line and played alongside Balogun against Australia. Pepi was chosen to lead the line against Turkey in the final group game when they had already sealed first place qualifying spot. Pochettino opted to rest players who were on yellow cards in that match, meaning just three of the 11 players in the first XI had started a World Cup match before - but even still Wright remained on the bench. Now that the USA have been knocked out, Wright is expected to return to Coventry City for pre-season at the end of July. His World Cup experience may be over before it even began, but Frank Lampard will no doubt be pleased his striker has come back injury-free and ready for the new Premier Legaue season.