USMNT preps for home soil World Cup opportunity at SoCal base camp

IRVINE, Calif. – Soccer in the United States has come a long way in the 32 years since it first hosted the World Cup in 1994.

That 1994 U.S. Men’s National Team was just the second American team to qualify for the World Cup in 44 years, and it featured only two players from Europe’s top five first-division leagues with 14 players simply playing for the U.S. Soccer Federation.

The formation of Major League Soccer in this country was still two years away.

Now, as the final preparations are made for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, the USMNT has never had a higher profile.

The United States has qualified for all but one World Cup since 1990 (and the less said about that 2016 miss the better), and 14 members of the 26-man roster for this World Cup compete in the top five leagues of Europe, including five in the English Premier League.

And that upstart Major League Soccer? There are now 30 teams in the domestic league, which has supplied eight players on this USMNT roster.

There’s also not enough to be said about the United States women’s program, which has won four World Cups since that event’s inception in 1991.

So, it’s no surprise why there were over 32,000 applicants for the 5,500 free tickets for the first open training session of the USMNT’s World Cup base camp on Monday at the Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine, or why FIFA chose to bring the men’s tournament back to the United States (besides the almighty dollar).

Sujey Luna – The Sporting Tribune

Fans watch the USMNT during a training session in Irvine, California, on June 8, 2026, as the squad continues preparations for upcoming World Cup.

However, for all that growth in the game domestically and for all the advancement of the U.S. Soccer program broadly, the USMNT has only won one knockout round game at the World Cup. Ever.

With all that history at their back–good and bad–the United States Men’s National Team gets the opportunity to fell all of the excitement, pressure and hope that a home soil World Cup brings, as these 26 Americans look to push this program to unforeseen heights beginning in Friday’s Group D opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

“I've tried to tell guys and tried to convey the message in the media that this it's a once in a career opportunity,” USMNT captain and defender Tim Ream (Charlotte FC of MLS) said, “and that with that comes more expectation, more more pressure. But at the same time, you have to enjoy it. So there's nobody putting more expectation, more pressure on us than ourselves.
And that's the way that it should be.”

Beyond just the home-field advantage of it all, the expectation and pressure on this United States team comes from that aforementioned top-league pedigree. The USMNT has never had more players from top European leagues on its squad, and there’s key members at every level.

The face of the program Christian Pulisic (AC Milan from Italy’s Serie A) and striker talent Folarin Balogun (AC Monaco from France’s Ligue 1). Former captain Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth in the English Premier League) and fellow impact midfielder Weston McKinnie (Juventus from Italy’s Serie A). Key center defender Chris Richards (Crystal Palace in the English Premier League) and up-and-down wingback Antonee “Jedi” Robinson (Fulham in the English Premier League).

All of whom and more have put in stellar club performances in their respective leagues, including a few trophies in the case.

“We just have a really, really good squad to be honest,” midfielder Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach of Germany’s Bundesliga) said. “The last 18 months, two years, we’ve really gotten older, got more experience. A lot of players have developed. We have a lot of depth. A lot of talent. It’s why we believe we can do something special because of the talent we have on this team.”

Again, for all of the club talent, it’s hard to know what this group is as a national team unit.

As one of the host nations, the United States did not have to go through the traditional qualification process. Unlike previous cycles, the USMNT did not have to battle through the trenches and soggy, rocky pitches of CONCACAF to come together as a group.

Instead, USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino has had to put the team through its paces with a schedule of high level friendlies around the other less-meaningful CONCACAF competitions, like the Gold Cup or Nations League–both of which see a downsizing of importance with its three major members already qualified for the World Cup.

In the past calendar year, the USMNT has played 12 friendlies all against teams that ended up qualified into this World Cup–including its three Group D opponents in Paraguay, Australia and Turkiye–which makes for a solid slate.

“Qualifying brings a different side out of you,” Reyna said. “Travelling to countries and different areas that are really, really tough places to play, but we’ve had some really, really good matches probably against higher level opponents, which I feel is probably more important and challenges us more than maybe qualifying would. It’s a different challenge, but obviously, playing top-ranked teams around the world in the last year to 18 months, if that doesn’t prepare you, then nothing will.”

Against that slate with all 12 of those matches in the United States, the USMNT put up a 5-6-1 record, including a five-match unbeaten run (4-0-1) through the end of 2025. However, while not all that impressive of marks, Pochettino’s goal has been getting this team ready for this World Cup.

Friendly results from a year ago don’t matter. What happens starting Friday against Paraguay does, and if the run of play from the two pre-tournament friendlies against Senegal (a 3-2 win in Charlotte) and Germany (a 2-1 loss in Chicago) are any indication, Pochettino’s group might be right where they want to be through this World Cup camp.

The USMNT showcased an aggressive, never-back-down style, and moreso than maybe any American squad before it, it showed an aptitude to create offense and continue to push for those chances rather than rely on a tenacious defense and all-world goalkeeping.

And that is where the major questions lie for this United States team.

The play of the backline has been in doubt, as Pochettino sorts out what his line-up will be, but Richards, their most important defender, only returned to full training from an ankle injury this week. His performance against Paraguay will go a long way to crystalizing what this team can do.

That backline may be called upon to do some yeoman’s work to shelter whoever is in net for the United States, whether its World Cup veteran Matt Turner (New England Revolution of MLS) or young buck Matt Freese (New York City FC of MLS). The USMNT has had a long legacy of stellar goalkeepers, but while MLS has grown considerably in the 30 years since its founding, its not the strongest spot the Americans have been in choosing between two MLS keepers to start a World Cup.

However the roster spots shake out, they will be presented with an enormous opportunity to capitalize on the growth of the sport in this nation with the largest home support this program has ever seen entering a World Cup.

“The message from me is ‘Believe,’” Freese said. “We’re believing, and when you have a group of guys that fights for each other, dies for each other on the field. Anything can happen. Believe in us, bring the energy. We hear each and every one of you.”