The long road to the 2030 men’s World Cup, and Mauricio Pochettino’s second term as U.S. men’s soccer team manager, will kick off in late September.
FIFA this year combined the September and October windows into one long stretch in which teams can play up to four games. The U.S. will play all four, against a combination of familiar regional rivals and visitors from South America.
Up first will be Peru on Sept. 26 in Orlando. Then it’s off to the Midwest to face Chile on Sept. 29 in St. Louis. Both of those games will be played at the local MLS stadiums.
Next up will be a renewal of the U.S. team’s most famous rivalry, against Mexico, on Oct. 3 in Glendale, Ariz. That gets an NFL stadium stage for the 80th edition of the matchup, and the first since last year’s Concacaf Gold Cup final.
Because the nations cohosted this summer’s World Cup, they didn’t have to qualify. That meant there were none of what are usually the best clashes, on each team’s home turf in World Cup qualifying. And they might not return, because the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams means Concacaf’s qualifying groups are spread out.
So we will be left with friendlies and hopes for meetings in the Gold Cup and Concacaf Nations League, which officially are neutral-site games, even though they’re always in the United States.
The last game of the slate will be against Canada on Oct. 6 in St. Paul, Minn. That will give the U.S. a chance to renew acquaintances with an old friend, the Canucks’ Wisconsin-born manager Jesse Marsch. The Princeton alumnus undoubtedly will relish that, as he so often relishes tossing barbs across the border at a U.S. program that spurned him when it first hired Pochettino.
Who will play in the games is an interesting prospect. Though the stars from the World Cup teams might sell tickets, many fans hope to see a new era of younger players get a shot. Potential call-ups include the Union’s Cavan and Quinn Sullivan, Frankie Westfield, and Neil Pierre; Red Bull New York’s Adri Mehmeti and Julian Hall; and Real Salt Lake’s Zavier Gozo.
It’s notable that MLS is playing a full round of games during the FIFA window, on Sept. 26 and 27. We’ll see how that affects Pochettino’s selections, and if he can get all the MLS-based players players he wants. (Europe’s leagues will be off.)
Keep an eye on goalkeeper, too. One of the U.S. pool’s top prospects, Diego Kochen, went on loan from Spanish superpower Barcelona to Denmark’s Lyngby — a team part-owned by the Union — for the upcoming European season.
Though none of the venues are near Philadelphia, they might at least make a nice quick escape for fans looking for a trip. Presales for U.S. Soccer members start Wednesday, and sales to the general public start Friday.
After the September-October window, the U.S. will enter the 2026-27 Concacaf Nations League in the November window. That will be a home-and-away quarterfinal series, and the opponent will be determined by first-round contests during that September/October window. The top four teams in the region got a bye to the quarters: the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Panama.
The 2027 final four will be played in its usual window, next March, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
USMNT schedule (all times Philadelphia time)
Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Peru at Inter.co Stadium, Orlando, 4:30 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Telemundo 62, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)
Tuesday, Sept. 29: vs. Chile at Energizer Park, St. Louis, 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)
Saturday, Oct. 3: vs. Mexico at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., 10 p.m. (TNT, Telemundo 62, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)
Tuesday, Oct. 6: vs. Canada at Allianz Field, St. Paul, Minn., 8 p.m. (TNT, truTV, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)
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