Three years ago, Max Arfsten was invisible. Twelve appearances. Three stars. Two hundred and seventy-two total minutes in the worst first season of any MLS player ever – a little more than a warm-up on a Columbus Crew outfit who went on to lift the trophy without him. You weren’t seeing features written on for him at that point. No one was slotting him into World Cup lineups. CompQuietly trying to make sense of whether the professional path of football was going to work, a 14th overall pick
He has 18 caps for the USMNT today, including a start in the Gold Cup final, along with a home World Cup just weeks away. The changeover is extreme, real, recorded, and almost totally unnoticed outside of Ohio.
The Part Nobody Talks About
After making his loan, if he pre was with the club (he didn’t feature in a game) and did not make either roster last season. He was gilded by his MLS debut; he scored in a 6-1 pasting of Atlanta United on March 25, but after that came a long stretch in which he steadily watched from the sidelines. The Crew was a winning team. Minutes were earned, not given. A kid from Fresno who had been the best player everywhere he ever played was suddenly last in line.
He has spoken about what that era did to him. “But before that, my whole life, I was just used to playing and being one of the better guys on my team,” Arfsten told MLS Soccer. “It was less about the money when I played at a lower level – I was always starting and playing. “I had to grow up a little bit.
In his case, growing up was staying behind after practice and taking on a role he’d never taken before, trusting Wilfried Nancy’s support staff to allow him to show what he could do given the chance. That patience was not comfortable. But it was formative.
When the Door Opened
In 2024 — or at least a version of Arfsten with more space to do so. He averaged 23 regular-season starts under Nancy, and 12 goal contributions later, he helped Columbus claim a Leagues Cup title and reach the Concacaf Champions Cup final. In 87 total appearances for the Crew across his career, he developed a record of 14 goals and 14 assists. He was signed on a three-year contract with the club. The national team image was falling into place.
His USMNT bow occurred on January 18, 2025, in a Jan. camp audition with which Pochettino said he was providing depth against Venezuela. Arfsten didn’t merely pass the test. He kept showing up. He was part of March’s Nations League squad, starting the third-place game with Canada and receiving a Gold Cup call-up that summer.
The area of the stage at the Gold Cup got bigger, and so did Arfsten. He started every match of the knockout rounds — quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. On June 29, he found the net for the first time as an international, putting away a tight game in favor of the U.S. against Costa Rica. His five assists in the 2025 calendar year led all USMNT players for a single year since Jordan Morris had six in 2019. He was an MLS All-Star. The same Fresno kid who was nowhere to be found in 2023 is now one of the most productive wide players in the American pool
What Makes Him Different
He is described as a left-wing back who can defend and smite you in the same breath. Columbus: Started all 29 regular-season matches and three in the postseason in 2025, finishing with 10 goal contributions, 50 chances created, and 74 tackles completed during the season. These numbers also suggest a player figuring out both sides of his position – not just how to attack, but how to be on the field when the team does not have the ball.
Pochettino has noticed. Arfsten isn’t a fringe option with 16 caps and 13 starts coming into the March 2026 friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. He can be relied upon, and he is someone we know in a system that level of consistency at wingback
The Mentality Behind It
What comes through anytime Arfsten is discussing his career is that he never truly feels settled -but not in a damaging way, rather in the manner that drives good players outside of comfort zones. I get the satisfaction of getting something done, and I’ll feel really good about it for a day or two at best, he added. And then you already think about the next thing for me. My brain works like that. “
A home World Cup roster push from just 272 debut minutes in under three years, that brain appears to be functioning quite nicely.
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