FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Things are finally starting to feel real for the United States men’s national team.
Eight years after the U.S. was granted the rights to host the 2026 World Cup in partnership with Mexico and Canada, Thursday marks one week out from the start of the tournament.
The Americans left their initial camp at the brand-new Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center on Thursday, heading first to Chicago for a final friendly Saturday against Germany and then on to their base camp in Irvine, Calif., approximately 40 miles from the site of their first match June 12 against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
“I think (the excitement) is definitely picking up. You see it all over social media, things like that,” U.S. defender Joe Scally said. “There’s still eight days out to the first game. I think every single day, it’s getting bigger and bigger. I think the world is excited and we’re excited.”
The every-four-years nature of the FIFA World Cup always brings a certain pressure. That’s amplified even more by the expectations that come from a home World Cup, which has happened just once previously for the U.S. in 1994.
The U.S. found out it would be hosting in 2018, the same year its streak of seven straight World Cup appearances was snapped with its stunning qualification failure.
The paired need for better results after that omission and the looming home World Cup led to increased buy-in from sponsors, as evidenced by the state-of-the-art Atlanta-area facility among other things.
The U.S. players, though, say they aren’t feeling any increased expectations stemming from hosting a World Cup.
“For myself, it’s a blessing to be here so I don’t really see the pressure in it,” Scally said. “It’s once every four years so you can kind of leave your mark on the field and show what you can show. Everybody on our team is as good of quality as can be shown.”
Getting to host the World Cup always comes with an inherent advantage. As a host, the U.S. was placed into Pot 1, meaning it avoided another top-tier team in its group like there was in 2022 (England) and 2014 (Germany).
The U.S. team (No. 16) is ranked highest in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings out of all Group D compatriots. Turkey (22nd), Australia (27th) and Paraguay (40th) complete the group.
Additionally, the expansion to 48 teams with the 2026 World Cup distributes teams more widely into 12 groups, eight of which will see their third-place team advance to the knockout stage.
Advancing to the 32-team elimination stage isn’t the larger goal for the Americans. They’ve done that the last two times they made the World Cup in a smaller field.
A run to the quarterfinals — something the country has done just once since 1930 (2002) — is the type of thing that would pay off the years of build-up and likely instill a similar level of buy-in nationally as the last time the U.S. hosted. It marked the first time since 1934 the country made it out of the group stage.
For now, players aren’t focused on the big picture, instead staying grounded in what they can control.
“Obviously, we as players want to win every game that we play. So it’s just about us, being there, enjoying the moment, seizing the moment and doing the best that we can,” midfielder Malik Tillman said. “If we do the best that we can, we can’t say that we regret anything after.”
–Curt Weiler, Field Level Media
