USMNT schedule 2026: USA men's soccer games, dates, times, live stream and TV channel including home World Cup

JUMP TO:

• USMNT schedule for 2026 calendar year
• USMNT pre-World Cup preparations
• Everything you need to know about the USMNT at the 2026 World Cup
• What we know about the 2026/27 CONCACAF Nations League
• Annual January camp moved to December

As the calendar turns to 2026, the United States men's national soccer team will embark on one of the most significant 12-month period of its entire history.

Set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June and July, the USMNT are hoping to put their best foot forward with the opportunity to captivate the nation and generate unprecedented levels of excitement around the sport of soccer, reaching potential heights this nation has never experienced before.

Success at the World Cup, in the form of a potential run to the quarterfinals or beyond, would position the U.S. To build on that electricity and buzz over the next decade or more. In contrast, disappointment at this summer's tournament could codify the sport's inferior comparative level, squandering a once-in-a-lifetime chance to generate course-altering levels of attention.

While 2026 will be defined by the World Cup, the soccer slate across the calendar year extends across much more than just those two months.

AllSportsPeople brings you a look at how the USMNT schedule will shape up across 2026 and what is in store for this era-defining year of football across America.

MORE: Predicting the USMNT starting lineup and squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

USMNT schedule 2026: USA men's soccer games

There is no January camp in 2026, as U.S. Soccer has done away with the annual tradition and moved it to December. The United States will play two friendlies in the March international break, and then two more in the immediate run-up to the FIFA World Cup.

Then, the 2026 World Cup will commence, with the U.S. Playing its first game on Friday, June 12. Their group-stage opponents will be determined at the World Cup draw held on December 5.

After the World Cup is complete, it's not known what will fill out the rest of the 2026 schedule. It's believed that the 2025/26 CONCACAF Nations League will begin at some point during the fall, but when is not terribly clear at this stage. There is no precedent for the current post-World Cup calendar in the Nations League era, as the only other time the Nations League was scheduled around a World Cup was in 2022 when the FIFA tournament was contested in December.

MORE: A look back at the 2025 fixtures and results as the USMNT built towards the 2026 World Cup

* If U.S. Qualifies
** Takes place outside official FIFA international window, meaning clubs are not required to release players for international duty

USMNT to play Belgium, Portugal in March

It was heavily reported through the fall of 2025 that the USMNT will take on Portugal and Belgium in the March international break, and that was confirmed just prior to the World Cup draw.

U.S. Soccer was forced to wait for Portugal and Belgium to officially secure qualification to the World Cup in the November international break before confirming the matches, ensuring they were free in the March window and not beholden to qualifying playoff obligations that would otherwise have seen them booked if they had failed to see out direct passage.

In a break from usual norms, the U.S. Is expected to play both games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Traditionally, the U.S. National team travels to play matches in different locations throughout individual international breaks. This time, they would play both matches in the same location.

USMNT pre-World Cup schedule

According to a report by The Athletic in the fall of 2025 and confirmed in December, the United States has lined up a pair of friendlies in the run-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be played in late May and early June right before the start of the tournament.

It is commonplace for most World Cup participants to play one or two friendlies just prior to the start of the competition to work out any last-minute kinks and get players into game shape with the national team.

The first match of the pre-World Cup camp will be played against Senegal in Charlotte, NC at Bank of America Stadium while the final send-off game will take place in Chicago. The second opponent will be Germany.

The selection to play Senegal before the start of the tournament is odd. It is common for World Cup preparations to include games against teams with similar style to that of the opponents a given country is set to face at the competition itself, yet there were no African teams drawn alongside the U.S. In the World Cup group stage.

During this time, the home base for the U.S. National team will be their new facility in Fayetteville, Gerogia. They will then set up World Cup camp in Southern California for the tournament itself, given that most of their matches are likely to take place on the west coast.

USMNT schedule at 2026 FIFA World Cup

The United States will take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, playing host to the famed competition for the second time following the 1994 tournament won by Brazil.

This time, they are joint-hosts alongside Canada and Mexico, as the tournament is played across nations for just the second time ever after the 2002 competition in South Korea and Japan.

MORE: Does Donal Trump have the right to move World Cup games?

USMNT in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

As hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the United States have been pre-drawn out of Pot 1 into Group D.

They have been drawn alongside Australia (FIFA #26) from Pot 2, Paraguay (FIFA #39) from Pot 3, and a to-be-determined UEFA playoff qualifier from Pot 4, from which either Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey, or Romania will join the group.

It's an extremely soft and kind draw for the 2026 co-hosts, who secure two of the lower-ranked sides from Pot 2 and 3, and grab arguably the easiest of the four UEFA pathways from Pot 4. 

USMNT group stage fixtures

Group D standings

USMNT in the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

While the group-stage slate for the USMNT was already solidified well in advance of the tournament, their potential knockout pathway remains up in the air until they secure mathematical qualification.

Should the U.S. Qualify for the Round of 32, either by placing top two in their group or being one of the eight third-place qualifiers, they have five potential places they could end up in.

Here are all five possible locations the U.S. Could wind up slotting into, as well as their path to the final from each one.

Path for USA in World Cup knockout — 1st place in Group D

Path for USA in World Cup knockout — 2nd place in Group D

Path for USA in World Cup knockout — 3rd place qualifier

As a member of Group D, the United States have three potential places in the knockout stage bracket they could be sorted into should they qualify as one of the eight third-place qualifiers.

Until all qualifiers are known, it is impossible to predict where or when they could potentially play should this come to pass. There are 495 mathematical combinations of third place qualifiers, with 330 of them involving a participant from Group D. All of these have been spelled out in advance, and every potential outcome can be found in Annex C (pg. 80) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup regulations.

Potential path 1 — Face Winner of Group E

There are 202 total combinations of third-place qualifiers that would see the U.S. Play the winner from Group E, which is by far the most likely result.

Potential path 2 — Face Winner of Group I

There are 111 possible combinations of third-place qualifiers that would see the USMNT face the winner of Group I in the Round of 32.

Potential path 3 — Face Winner of Group K

This is by far the least likely scenario for if the U.S. Were to qualify as a third place finisher, with only 17 of the possible 495 combinations of third-place qualifiers resulting in this placement.

* If USA qualifies via 1st place in Group D
** If USA qualifies via 2nd place in Group D

2026/27 CONCACAF Nations League

It's likely that the fall of 2026 will see the resumption of the CONCACAF Nations League for the 2026/27 edition of the competition.

The annual tournament, which was created to cut down on the number of friendlies being contested yearly, skipped the 2025/26 edition as North American teams focus on their World Cup preparations.

At this point, it's not known when the competition will be played, but judging by previous editions, it can be safely assumed that the two-legged quarterfinals will be played in November 2026, while the one-off semifinals and finals will be contested the following March, mirroring the last time this competition was played in 2024/25.

Annual January camp moved to December for 2026 and beyond

U.S. Soccer announced in late 2025 that it was permanently moving the annual January camp to December, meaning the early 2026 edition of the traditional meetup is being effectively skipped.

Every year, the USMNT convenes for either one or two international friendlies outside the traditional FIFA international break. As such, the roster is almost entirely made up of domestic-based players, who are in the middle of their offseason at the time of the camp, as MLS plays from March to November.

Clubs are not required to release players for international duty outside of officially designated international breaks, and therefore most European-based players would not be available for action at this time.

Convening in December instead of January affords players less conflict with their club's preseason ramp-up.