How does the USMNT look for 2026?

Next year, the World Cup will be a showcase event for soccer and the USMNT. While officially a tri-nation event, most fixtures occur in the United States. As such, a weight of expectation is already placed upon Mauricio Pochettino and what he can do to prepare the Americans for kickoff on June 12th at SoFi Stadium. Ultimately you're not going to find any expert soccer predictions outside of the US who see them as credible contenders at this stage, but there's still time to grow as a team.

Poor Copa America Urged Change

Gregg Berhalter was axed for the second time as the USMNT head coach after a dismal display in the Copa America. Consecutive losses to Panama and Uruguay sealed their fate, as they exited at the group stage – a collective disappointment as the tournament was held on home soil.

2024 was a total failure for the team. They were only able to defeat fellow CONCACAF confederation opponents when on US soil. The goal for US soccer has been to be competitive outside their own continent, yet whenever they faced off against South American teams, they often lost. They also drew with world-ranking minnows New Zealand 1-1 in Ohio.

Berhalter out. Mauricio Pochetino in. He’s only taken charge of two competitive games, where he navigated the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final tie against Jamaica. It is hardly groundbreaking, but at least the 5-2 aggregate win put down a marker on what this team can achieve.

Pulisic and Pepi Pulling the Weight

Who are the superstars of the stars and stripes? While the US had a fine period of manufacturing exceptional goalkeepers, Tim Howard, Brad Friedel, and Brad Guzan, the onus is now very much on the other side of the pitch.

Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi are scoring a lot of goals for the US team and their respective clubs, AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven. It is unlikely that the latter will be playing in the Eredivisie for much longer if he keeps scoring at the rate he does. 11 goals in 18 Dutch league games tend to lead the way to another top-tier league.

Pulisic might have been public knowledge for years, but he’s only 26. Captain America was largely inconsistent during his tenure with Chelsea in the Premier League – but has since discovered his true abilities with AC Milan in Serie A.

Unless a wonder-kid striker breaks out of the US system between now and the 2026 World Cup, these two will be the only names that appear positively in any kind of soccer predictions before important games so it would be helpful if at least one more gamebreaker could break out.

Creative Caden Clark Calls from Canada

Caden Clark has been known to US soccer fans for years, having come through the Red Bull academy. His initial promise secured him a transfer to RB Leipzig in Germany, but he never made a senior appearance for the club. Instead, he spent time on loan back in the NY Red Bulls setup as part of their MLS campaigns.

While he was never considered for the regular standard USMNT fixtures, an opportunity arose in the non-FIFA calendar friendlies that the USMNT organised in January 2025. Major League Soccer is in its offseason at this juncture, so the squad selection offered domestic-based talent a chance to play for their country. Clark seized said opportunity with both hands and feet. He played in both games, scoring against Costa Rica and assisting a goal in the match with Venezuela.

Clark joined CF Montréal in August 2024 and is currently contracted to CF Montréal. He helped the Canadian team finish just inside the postseason spots with crucial goals at the end of the regular season against San Jose Earthquakes and New York City FC. If he keeps up the momentum going into the 2025 MLS season, he should be able to retain his spot in the USMNT.

Nations League Triumph Will Spark Belief

Can the US win the World Cup or even anticipate going far in the tournament? If the campaign in Qatar was a NASA mission, it failed to truly lift off. Uninspiring draws with Wales and England, and an unconvincing 1-0 win over Iran saw them squeak into the knockout round. That only led to being pulled apart by the Netherlands.

The US team needs to become the best in CONCACAF if it is to challenge on the world stage. The Nations League might not be the trophy every American soccer child dreams of lifting, but it will bring confidence to the team. Ultimately, if they cannot beat Panama, Canada, and Mexico, they won’t be able to succeed on home turf in the 2026 World Cup.

If they lose here, it could even spark another managerial change. Does US Soccer still have Bob Bradley’s number? He’s currently out of work…

05.02.2025