​We don’t want to waste your time. This post isn’t about what comes next in terms of who will coach the USMNT or the future roles of Christian Pulisic and Malik Tillman within the program. Instead, we’re focusing on the nitty-gritty: what competitions lie ahead for the men’s national team, and what the Yanks will be doing in the period from the end of this tournament up to the 2030 World Cup in Portugal, Spain, and Morocco (with three games in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay along the way).
There’s also the matter of a home Olympics in Los Angeles and a U-23 competition guided by program legend Steve Cherundolo, which is sure to attract some bigger names to the overage pool (teams may include only three players over the age of 23). This is a look at USMNT results and fixtures as they’re announced, and it will be very different from the last cycle when qualification for the World Cup wasn’t required. It will also be different in other ways as FIFA has altered the international calendar.
The United States will enjoy an expanded international break from September 21 to October 6, during which four matches will be played. This stretch won’t include the fifth edition of the CONCACAF Nations League. A group-stage draw is forthcoming on July 23, and the Yanks are very likely to be one of four nations receiving a bye to November’s quarterfinals. In this cycle, the Americans are placed in League A alongside Canada, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
November’s international window will feature home-and-away matches against a group-stage qualifier, with the aim of advancing to the semifinals in March 2027 and contending for either a third-place match or a final (to be played March 25–28, 2027). After these fixtures, the USMNT will prepare for next summer’s Gold Cup with two friendlies scheduled between June 7 and June 15.
There have been rumors that the 2028 Copa América could be awarded to the United States as part of a deal to host the 2024 Copa América. If that proves true, the Yanks will once again face a summer decision on how best to allocate their talent for two major tournaments—this time both on American soil—mirroring the approach taken in 2024. The men will qualify as hosts for the 2028 Olympics, which will run from July 10 to July 29, using a U-23 roster with three overage players.
While dates for the 2028 Copa América aren’t set yet, the 2024 edition ran from June 20 to July 14, and the 2021 tournament occurred from June 13 to July 10. Questions remain about how CONCACAF World Cup qualifying for 2030 will look, given that the United States, Canada, and Mexico bypassed qualifying for 2026 as tri-hosts. The updated qualification path and scheduling will be shaped by these evolving formats, and the calendar changes will influence how the USMNT plans its build-up to the 2030 World Cup, the 2028 Olympics, and parallel competitions in 2028 and 2030.