VCK World Cup 2026: A golden opportunity to reshape the trajectory of men's soccer in the United States

However, the U.S. men's national soccer team has never won the World Cup. Their best achievement was finishing third in 1930. In the modern era, the men's team has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals, even when the U.S. hosted the 1994 World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will be the 23rd edition in the history of world soccer. It will also be the first tournament to feature 48 national teams, up from 32 in the previous World Cup held in Qatar in 2022. The event will take place across 16 cities in the three host countries.

The group stage draw will be held on December 5 in Washington D.C., USA. Teams will compete in a single round-robin format to start the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19. The final match of the 2026 World Cup will be hosted at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA.

This will be the largest sporting event in U.S. history, especially coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the country's independence (1776–2026), and there will be a match played in Philadelphia, where the U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed.

The U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) hopes this grand event will act as a catalyst to completely transform the future path of men's soccer. The USSF, which governs soccer in the U.S. and oversees development at all levels, has created a “Roadmap Strategy” aimed at competing — and genuinely winning — in upcoming World Cups.

The strategy rests on three pillars: removing financial barriers that limit children’s access to soccer, making soccer the most played sport in the U.S., and ultimately developing men’s and women’s teams capable of winning the World Cup every four years.

Speaking to the press before the draw, USSF CEO JT Batson stated that in women's soccer, the U.S. has more talented players than any other country and could even field multiple teams capable of competing in the World Cup. However, for men's soccer, the key lies in focusing on the best players aged 13–17 and 18–23, placing them in the right environments (appropriate professional clubs, academies, or youth national team programs) so that high-level matches happen more frequently, helping them become world-class players.

Batson hopes the 2026 World Cup will serve as a “lever” to boost youth soccer development and attract greater investment at the highest levels. He noted that the Arthur M. Blank National Soccer Training Center in Georgia will be a state-of-the-art complex for 27 U.S. national teams (across age groups, sports, disabilities, and genders). This will be the first time all national teams are centralized under one roof, a facility that would not exist without the World Cup being hosted in the U.S. He expects the World Cup to drive soccer business growth, which he considers essential for building a national team capable of competing for the championship.