​There are big questions hanging over the US men’s program. Mauricio Pochettino’s contract is nearing its end, US Soccer has extended an offer, but both sides are taking their time. Matt Crocker’s sudden departure as sporting director to pursue a similar role with Saudi Arabia before the World Cup raises further questions about the direction of the sport in this country. While much of the 2026 squad’s core is still expected to compete for 2030, four years is a long horizon.
From here on, each year will present a major tournament to illuminate the path forward. The United States will need to maintain momentum as it returns to regional competition. The Nations League begins in September, though the U.S. is likely to enter in November after the region’s top-four teams receive byes to the quarter-finals. The semi-finals and final are scheduled for March 2027. The U.S. previously won the first three Nations Leagues but did not reach the final in 2025, stumbling against Panama before losing the third-place match to Canada. The upcoming edition offers the first real chance to demonstrate that the summer’s solid form was not a fluke but a signal of a new normal: football that is effective and expansive in its expression.
The Gold Cup follows in the summer, a tournament historically used to test players on the bubble. In 2019, after missing the previous World Cup, the United States used the competition to introduce talents such as Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. Pochettino’s Gold Cup campaign helped him integrate Malik Tillman, Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Freeman, and Matt Freese into the fold. Players who were among the harshest cuts from Pochettino’s squad—Aidan Morris, Diego Luna, Tanner Tessmann, and the injured Patrick Agyemang—could now use the tournament as a springboard to become more central to the core earlier in the cycle. Those deemed too inexperienced to contend for this summer will press for early inclusion, including Zavier Gozo, Niko Tsakiris, Adri Mehmeti, and Julian Hall.
Goalkeeper is a position to watch. Even with a Gold Cup under his belt, Freese appeared green and faltered against Belgium, while Matt Turner turned 32 in June, leaving the door open for other options. Establishing a reliable backstop by next summer would provide the team with multiple tournaments to build cohesion and deepen trust.
The United States will also begin World Cup qualifying in November 2027, entering in round two alongside the region’s other top-ranked teams. They will head a four-team group, where finishing first or second will determine advancement, with fixtures spread across November and March, offering additional opportunities to refine the roster and strategy ahead of the 2030 World Cup.