Which Teams Will USMNT Face Before 2026 World Cup? Upcoming Schedule Revealed

The United States' men's national team announced its slate of 2026 friendlies on Tuesday as it continues its preparations for the World Cup.

The schedule will be as follows:

• March 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET: USMNT vs Belgium at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
• March 31 at 7 p.m. ET: USMNT vs Portugal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
• April 31 at 3:30 p.m. ET: USMNT vs. Opponent TBD at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte
• June 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET: USMNT vs. Germany at Soldier Field in Chicago

The United States will find out its group pairings on Friday and the full schedule for this year's World Cup will be revealed a day later on Saturday. The World Cup will officially kick off on June 11, with tournament co-host Mexico in action, while fellow co-hosts United States and Canada will each have their first matches on Friday, June 12.

While the United States closed out its 2025 friendly calendar with tough matchups against Paraguay and Uruguay (both wins), the country didn't have the most demanding slate of opponents this year.

But 2026 will bring far more challenging competition. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal is currently ranked sixth in the FIFA men's rankings, Belgium is eighth and Germany is ninth. The United States bumped up two rankings in November's update, meanwhile, moving to 14th (and leapfrogging both Mexico and Uruguay in the process).

After Mexico (15th) and Uruguay (16th), the United States' most highly-ranked opponents in 2025 were Switzerland (17th), Japan (18th), South Korea (22nd), Ecuador (23rd), Türkiye (25th), Australia (26th) and Canada (27th). So Portugal, Belgium and Germany will be a significant jump in terms of quality of opponent.

The upcoming friendlies will also give manager Mauricio Pochettino the opportunity to solidify his best starting 11 and favored reserves. The availability of the country's top talents was a controversial storyline at times in 2025, but there's little doubt the squad's top options will be made available for these friendlies, barring injury.