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The U.S. men’s national team’s Copa America journey ended earlier than originally anticipated on Monday, when a 1-0 loss to Uruguay led them to a group stage exit — and a long wait for their next competitive matchup.
The 2026 World Cup co-hosts now will take most of the summer off, allowing players to recharge after a long season and re-join their clubs for preseason work. The wait will not be terribly long for the U.S. to return to action, though, with two friendlies scheduled for September.
With the Copa America now behind them, the onus is on U.S. Soccer to ensure the team will play as competitive a schedule as possible with less than two years to go until the World Cup on home soil. There will be some schedule constraints with the Concacaf Nations League, but there will also be time to arrange for some high-profile friendlies before the World Cup begins in two years’ time.
That said, there are only a limited number of calendar slots open for the USMNT to compete, giving every team — not just the World Cup co-hosts — challenges when building their schedules.
Here’s a breakdown of the USMNT’s path before the 2026 World Cup begins.
The USMNT return to play in late summer with friendlies against Canada on Sept. 7 and New Zealand on Sept. 10. Canada are No. 48 in the FIFA rankings, well behind the 11th place U.S., but after hiring Jesse Marsch and qualifying for the Copa America quarterfinals, they may be a team on the rise. New Zealand, meanwhile, are ranked 107th and have not qualified for the World Cup since 2010.
The U.S. have also already scheduled a game against Panama on Oct. 12, making it the first time the pair will play since the U.S. surprisingly lost to their regional rival midway through the Copa America group stage. Another match that month will be announced at a later date.
After their friendlies in the fall, the U.S. will open up 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League play in November against a yet-to-be determined opponent in the quarterfinals. Should they advance, the three-time defending champions will then compete in the semifinals, as well as either the third-place game or the final, in March of 2025.
A few months later, the USMNT will compete in the Concacaf Gold Cup and will likely aim to win the trophy for the first time since 2021.
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A myriad of scheduling conflicts will likely determine how competitive the USMNT’s schedule will be as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup. Regional clashes may dominate the calendar for the next year — in addition to the friendlies already on the schedule, the Concacaf Nations League could take away two international windows and next summer’s focus will be on the Gold Cup.
In addition to one yet-to-be-named opponent the U.S. will face in October, though, there will be six international windows — and most likely just 12 games — for the team to work with. It means the U.S. will have a very limited window of opportunity to improve before the 2026 World Cup rolls around in less than two years.
In theory, there’s a wide range of strong teams the U.S. can play against in those windows. Most teams, though, will be bogged down with their own scheduling commitments, chiefly World Cup qualifying. While most continents will wrap up their qualifying campaigns by the end of 2025, Europe’s will run until the penultimate international window before the World Cup in March of 2026. Teams competing in qualifiers will have chances to sneak away for friendlies, but it will be difficult, so we will have to wait to see how stacked the U.S. schedule is for the next couple of years.
*These matches will only be played if the USMNT wins their Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal matchup and will most likely be replaced by friendlies if they fail to advance.
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