Meet the American youngster with Olympic background on Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT radar ahead of 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup will take place in the United States, as well as Mexico and Canada this summer. A prestigious tournament that players of all ages and backgrounds aim to compete in at least once, it is the pinnacle of world football.

One youngster, for whom competitive edge is everything, knows a first call-up to the USMNT squad this summer would put him level with his Olympian father in appearances at major competitions in their respective sports.

Twenty-one-year-old United States youth international Rokas Pukštas is that individual, currently playing in Croatia after moving to Eastern Europe from Oklahoma at the age of 16.

One To Watch: USMNT wannabe Rokas Pukštas

The American youngster is the son of two former Lithuanian athletes-turned-coaches. His father Mindaugas Pukštas placed 74th in the Olympic marathon at the 2004 Games hosted in Athens, while Pukštas' mother, Zivile, has spent over 20 years on the staff at Oklahoma State University after a successful career as a triple-jumper.

"I'm a competitor", Pukštas tells 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."

Pukštas is one of Hajduk Split's leading lights this season. The historic Croatian top flight side are gunning for a first league title in over 20 years, up against perennial champs Dinamo Zagreb.

A versatile, box-to-box midfielder with, unsurprisingly, a fantastic engine, Pukštas has six goals and three assists to his name at the time of writing, as he seeks to plot a course into Pochettino's World Cup thinking.

"We used to throw the football around and stuff, and my ability to time whenever I jumped to catch the football at the highest point, all these things has helped my athleticism in my game now.

"Regarding football, it just brought me the most joy," he adds.

Pukštas' father is a football obsessive, the young midfielder says, admitting that despite his distance running background, Mindaugas 'knows everything about every team in Europe' and took to coaching a young Rokas back in Stillwater. As for his mother's influence, Pukštas was taught sprinting techniques from an early age, that no doubt have aided him in getting this far. Above all, he believes it's the discipline of organised sports that has given him an edge over his peers.

"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. 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 that mentality is the most important."

Right now, he's on the USMNT periphery, a youth international at every age group from Under-15 to Under-23; the 21-year-old's development has not been on the fast-track. It has been, if you will, a marathon, not a sprint, made to bide his time since arriving in Croatia, solo, at the age of 16.

"I was fortunate enough to already be independent at 13, when I went to Sporting Kansas City['s academy]. And I think my parents knew that [me moving to Split] was going to be hard for our family, but eventually, in the long run, it's going to be beneficial. And I'm really thankful that I was pushed in that way and to be able to have the opportunities I have now because of the sacrifices I made as a young kid."

The United States' midfield talent pool is fierce. There are those with Premier League experience such as Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson, Champions League pedigree in Weston McKennie, as well as fellow up-and-comers Tanner Tessmann, Gio Reyna and Malik Tillmann, all of whom are playing in stronger leagues than Croatia's top division.

But, there's something Pukštas has, aside from his ultra-competitiveness and discipline, that sets him apart from the others - he's already been coached by a World Cup winner, none other than Gennaro Gattuso, Italy's midfield general from the Azzurri's 2006 triumph.

"I learned a lot from him because he's a militant guy. He's very strict. He has orders. I think the things that I took from him was seeing how the locker room changed, with all the players respecting him as a legend, and I really liked that he really reminded me of my parents as well, because he was disciplined and strict, he asked for the things that he wanted."

Given the admiration he clearly feels for his parents, was there ever a temptation to represent Lithuania internationally? Surely, by now he'd have several senior caps to his name.

"It's always been the United States. 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, Reyna, 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.

Before Pukštas can even begin to think about a first USMNT call-up, though, there is the small matter of, as he puts it, executing on the big stage with Hajduk who find themselves in the throes of a title race. Last season, the club led for much of the campaign but faltered at a crucial period of the campaign and finished third, two points behind eventual title winners HNK Rijeka.

"It would mean everything. The fans, they deserve it, they've been waiting for 20 years. So I think our mindset as a team now is to have our circle, not to get too emotional with every game, to take it game by game, and just to focus throughout the week, because we have a really big chance of getting it done."

Pukštas is remaining grounded and aims to be well-rounded, whether it be playing chess and table tennis during his downtime or 'shooting a few baskets' with friends on the courts in Split. This year could prove to be a significant one in his career, so is it any wonder competition is never far from his mind?

Days after Pukštas' interview with FourFourTwo, the Hajduk midfielder faced NK Varazdin. He contested a whopping 24 duels in 90 minutes, winning 17 - including nine of his 10 battles in the air. Practice what you preach.