Somehow, we are already less than one year away from the United States, Mexico, and Canada hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, long promised to be among the biggest, greatest, and most memorable global events ever held.
Given that level of hype, anyone else feeling vastly underwhelmed at this point?
You have FIFA’s latest money grab, the expanded Club World Cup, currently taking place at many of the same U.S. stadium locations that will host matches in 2026 and, let’s just say, it isn’t really registering with the people. Mostly empty stadiums and impossible-to-find match broadcasts have turned what was planned as a World Cup appetizer into some stale chips and questionably colored guac you wouldn’t touch if someone dared you.
And then, of course, there’s the U.S. Men’s National Team, the protagonists of this 2026 script we all hope becomes a blockbuster. Casting pulled a major coup when Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine manager formerly of Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain, signed on to coach the U.S. to and through a once-in-a-generation home World Cup. The only problem, things have yet to play out onscreen the way anyone envisioned.
Prior to the start of the CONCACAF Gold Cup this week, Pochettino had guided the squad to a paltry 5-5 record, with wins over Panama, Jamaica (twice), Venezuela, and Costa Rica (average FIFA ranking of 52.0) and losses to Mexico, Panama, Canada, Türkiye, and Switzerland (average ranking: 25.4).
It’s clear the U.S. is nowhere close to where it needs to be a year out from the most important tournament any of its players will ever play in. And the opportunities to improve are growing scarce.
The Gold Cup was supposed to be a key one. The North American continental championship marks the last competitive tournament in which the team will participate until the World Cup. But injuries, club commitments, and, in Christian Pulisic’s case, general fatigue from a long season – a reason which Pochettino did not take kindly to – have rendered the USMNT without the services of the majority of its presumed starting players.
Of the 26 players who were named to the Gold Cup roster, seven have never played for the national team before.
Now, that didn’t prevent the squad from turning in the best performance to date under Pochettino in the opening match of the tournament, beating the Caribbean’s favorite tag team, Trinidad and Tobago, 5-0.
Which brings us to Thursday night at Q2 Stadium, where the youthful U.S. will look to continue their momentum against another longtime North American rival, (checks notes) Saudi Arabia.
As of Tuesday, with primary market ticket prices starting at the absurd price of $92, close to half the stadium remained unsold. And you can understand why. No American stars, no recognizable opposition, no sizzle, and, really, no steak.
Gross overestimations of demand by CONCACAF aside, Thursday’s match does provide a stage for the U.S. to string together positive results for the first time since January. And we may be witnessing the emergence of some players who could fill key roles when it comes time for Pochettino to name his World Cup roster, including Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, and Patrick Agyemang.
There’s still time for the U.S. Men’s National Team, and international soccer in general, to recover the momentum we thought would be undeniable by the time we got within 12 months of the World Cup. But that time is going to evaporate before we know it. World Cup 2026 is coming whether we’re ready for it or not.
This article appears in June 20 • 2025.