The United States is steaming headlong towards an era-defining 2026 World Cup on home soil, but there’s plenty of roadblocks along the way, with the FIFA championship still more than two years in the future.

Following a disappointing Copa America result where the USMNT crashed out of the group stage, head coach Gregg Berhalter was dismissed, with Mauricio Pochettino coming aboard.

2024 was meant to be a vital year in the build towards the 2026 World Cup, but instead the Copa America proved a step back. Still, the USMNT must press on, and there will be a number of matches to close out the calendar year that will be important for Pochettino to sort out his best squad.

A number of international friendlies are still to come, including against Mexico south of the border, while CONCACAF Nations League play looms in November.

MORE: How Mauricio Pochettino fits as new USMNT head coach after Berhalter exit

USMNT schedule, fixtures for 2024

A disappointing Copa America saw the U.S. beaten by Panama and Uruguay, forced to hit the reset button by parting ways with Gregg Berhalter and signing former Champions League finalist Mauricio Pochettino.

Prior to that, the U.S. secured its third straight CONCACAF Nations League title in March, while contesting a challenging pair of pre-Copa America friendlies against Colombia and Brazil.

Still to come arefour international friendlies for the September and October international breaks, contesting matches on home soil against Canada, New Zealand, Panama, and Mexico. The U.S. men have never suffered defeat to the former three, but playing Mexico on the road presents a tough challenge.

They will then finish the calendar year with a two-legged November matchup against a yet-to-be-determined quarterfinal opponent in the next iteration of the CONCACAF Nations League. Potential opponents include Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala or any other surprise qualifier from the league phase of the competition.

MORE: A closer look at the full history between the USMNT and Mexico

USA crashes out of 2024 Copa America in Group C

The U.S. was drawn into an intriguing Group C for the 2024 Copa America, but was to advance to the knockout stage from the four-team collection.

Unfortunately, they failed to meet that mark, with a devastating defeat to Panama punctuated by an early red card for Tim Weah that left them chasing the result a man down. They were unable to match up after that, and left themselves a must-win match against title hopefuls Uruguay.

The Marcelo Bielsa-led side was in good form, having beaten both Argentina and Brazil in the early stages of CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifying, and it was too big a task for Gregg Berhalter and company, falling 1-0 to confirm their exit from the competition.

MORE: Why Gregg Berhalter had to go after the USMNT’s 2024 Copa America failure

USA wins 2023/2024 CONCACAF Nations League

The U.S. got past Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, thanks in large part to a 3-0 first leg win at home, which set them up for advancement. That result proved vital, as they dropped the second leg on the road 2-1 but advanced anyways thanks to their aggregate advantage.

In the Nations League semifinals, the U.S. used a last-minute own goal by Jamaica’s Cory Burke to force extra time, where the USMNT eventually prevailed over Jamaica, 3-1. Then, in the finals in Arlington, Texas, the USMNT dominated Mexico, winning another Dos a Cero to lift the Nations League title. 

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal matchups were between four seeded teams, which earned a bye to this round, against four qualifiers from the group stage. They were contested across two legs back in November of 2023.

* Advanced on away goals tiebreaker
** Advanced via penalty shootout

Semifinals

To determine semifinal matchups, quarterfinal winners are re-seeded, placed in a table based on their results across the two quarterfinal legs.

Third Place

Final

United States U-23 to compete in 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris

While the women’s side of the Olympics features a fully professional roster, the men’s competition is restricted to a U-23 tournament.

Teams must deploy a roster of players entirely comprising of youth-team individuals, with three exemptions per nation. Those three players may be any individuals, so head coaches must use their roster selections wisely.

While in theory they can pick from any players in the national team pool, in practice that’s unrealistic, as the Olympics take place just a short time after the Copa America or Euros, and a short time before the start of the club season, meaning it’s impossible to ask players to participate in both. Thus, players who participate with their senior national teams in major tournaments are almost universally ruled out of selection for their Olympic squad.

Group stage

The United States was drawn into Group A of the men’s Olympics bracket, alongside hosts France, who are coached by Thierry Henry. The USYNT beat France in a friendly back in the March international window.

Group A standings

Group A fixtures

Knockout stage

Should they qualify by finishing top two in their group, the knockout stage path for the United States will be determined by their group stage position. Finishing first in Group A sees them match up against the second place finisher in Group B, while a second-place finish in Group A sees them take on Group B’s winner.

Group B includes Argentina, Ukraine, Morocco, and a to-be-determined qualifier from the Asian confederation.

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Third Place

Final