PHOENIX – In 2018, the U.S. men’s national team was still reeling from missing that summer’s World Cup – its first absence from the premier soccer tournament since 1986. It signified a new low for U.S. soccer, raising questions about the state of the men’s program as well as the sport’s viability in the states.
Seven years later, and less than one year away from the global spectacle, the question remains: Is North America ready for what is to come next summer, when the FIFA World Cup will be jointly held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, marking the first time the tournament will be spread across three countries? Concerns about attendance, field conditions, weather and ticket pricing linger.
Soccer remains a secondary sport in the U.S. compared to the big three – baseball, basketball and football. Although the United States Soccer Federation has made efforts to expand the game’s presence in the U.S., it has yet to reach the level of the aforementioned sports.
Pa-Modou Kah, coach of Phoenix Rising FC, said that although soccer is growing in the U.S., it is still important to acknowledge one key difference.
“Football (soccer) is a poor man’s sport but here it’s pay-to-play,” Kah said. “If this country truly wants to develop, I think that’s one of the things that has to change.”
The pay-to-play model – a format that requires pay for participation – is used heavily across youth sports in the U.S., creating an obstacle for the growth of soccer as athletes without financial support miss out on developmental opportunities.
Kah said a lot of talent is lost in the United States because athletes’ families are unable to pay the costs required to play soccer. Overseas, this is not an issue since competitive soccer is more accessible regardless of financial investment. While soccer is the world’s most popular sport, prioritizing profit has contributed to United States soccer trailing on a global scale.
Pay-to-play may also have affected the United States’ progression toward becoming a force outside of CONCACAF, which is one of FIFA’s six continental governing bodies. The USMNT’s best finish at a FIFA World Cup came in 1930, when the team placed third in the inaugural men’s tournament.
The USMNT’s best finish in recent history came in 2002, which culminated in a quarterfinal appearance. Since then, the U.S. men’s team has yet to win a game in the knockout stages of a World Cup.
Steven Goff, a longtime soccer journalist for The Washington Post, sees a change in the high-expense model.
“MLS academies for the most part are not pay-to-play,” Goff said. “Youth soccer has to be funded in some way. It’s a challenge of how you make the coaching, facilities and competition at an affordable cost.”
Even then, accessibility issues remain. Some kids are outside of MLS academy markets and do not play in settings where scouts would be present. With transportation costs and missing days at school, sacrifices are required to make young athletes visible in a way that is not necessary for other American sports.
The U.S. men’s team finished another CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign in July – its last tournament before the World Cup. Historically, the U.S. and Mexico have dominated the competition as the pair have won the tournament a combined 17 of 18 times. But with the United States’ 2-1 loss to Mexico in the final, Mexico has won three of the last five Gold Cups.
Goff said the team re-established its character in the Gold Cup, a development that was necessary after the United States’ Nations League showing in March.
Many analysts saw more positives than negatives emerge from the United States’ performance in the Gold Cup. The squad was without some of its best players, most notably Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah. Players missed the tournament because of injuries, club obligations or rest purposes.
Those decisions did not go over well with U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino, who engaged in a public dispute with Pulisic. But the absences of the team’s primary talent allowed some of the inexperienced players to capture attention.
“Guys like Diego Luna, Sebastian Berhalter, Malik Tillman and Matt Freese showed well,” Goff said. “I think some of these players will remain in the mix for the next set of matches in the fall.”
Honduras, one of the nations competing in the Gold Cup, reached the semifinal stage of the tournament, marking its best finish since 2013. Honduras manager Reinaldo Rueda has been competing against the U.S. in CONCACAF since his first tenure as Honduras manager.
Infrastructure advantages
Rueda said there is a reason FIFA awarded the United States with the World Cup.
“I think we should be proud that the future of world soccer is in the U.S.,” Rueda said. “ I’m not the one saying this, European football is saying this. I follow the MLS a lot. It really is a growth that is gratifying for CONCACAF.”
Rueda called the United States’ advantages in infrastructure “magnificent.” Infrastructure was certainly a reason for the U.S. being selected for the 2026 World Cup bid, FIFA executives said.
Eleven NFL stadiums will be used for the tournament with an average capacity of approximately 70,000. The World Cup with the highest average capacity was in 1994, when it was held in nine venues across the United States.
While U.S. stadiums are large, there were complaints from teams competing in the Gold Cup and Club World Cup this summer regarding field conditions. Following the Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Reece James, captain of Chelsea, said the field was not the best for the body and, as a result, affected the quality of the games.
Furthermore, Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique said, “the ball bounces like a rabbit” in reference to the surface at Lumen Field in Seattle. Goff said it goes hand-in-hand with playing matches in the United States.
“It’s a big issue,” Goff said. “By choosing the U.S., this is the situation you’re in.” https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/7abebf4d5ef3ee3d1b46c33c9289ecba/attendance-for-usmnt-nations-league-and-gold-cup-matches/index.html
MetLife Stadium, one of 17 of 32 NFL stadiums that uses artificial turf over natural grass, is notorious for its field conditions causing injuries. For an athlete like James who has an injury history, it is not an ideal surface going into the World Cup.
FIFA mandates natural grass to be used in major tournaments. As a result, MetLife Stadium and other venues implemented temporary grass overlays this summer.
One NFL stadium that uses natural grass is the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium. Although the stadium will not be a World Cup venue, it hosted two Gold Cup quarterfinal matches this summer.
Hervé Renard, manager of the Saudi Arabia team, was complimentary of the field conditions after his team lost to Mexico at State Farm Stadium in June.
“I think the stadium is fantastic,” Renard said. “We played in Las Vegas, it was an amazing stadium. Everything was perfect except the result.”
Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, also uses natural grass. Even with the temporary grass overlays, complaints were drawn as it does not quite meet the standard of natural grass stadiums. FIFA said it will monitor the situation ahead of the World Cup.
Temperature concerns
Similarly, players have expressed concerns about the weather conditions this summer. Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez said the heat was “very dangerous” at the Club World Cup. At one point, he said he had to lie down because of dizziness.
Many tournament games were played earlier in the day when temperatures were at their peak. Humidity made the conditions even more difficult to bear. Borussia Dortmund put its concerns on display after the coach had his substitutes sit in the locker room during a match in Cincinnati, rather than the sidelines like usual.
FIFA scheduled games in the afternoon hours to accommodate overseas audiences. Even with cooling breaks in place, the heat impacted fatigue levels. Goff said he thinks FIFA recognized the problematic nature of its Club World Cup scheduling and will act accordingly for the World Cup.
In response to heat concerns, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced covered stadiums will be in use during day games at the 2026 World Cup. FIFA is also looking into adding longer halftime breaks and more cooling breaks.
Pricing concerns
Attendance had its lows during the two tournaments this summer. Some of it had to do with ticket pricing and inconvenient start times for fans. Hampered by a lack of starpower, the U.S. men’s team largely struggled to fill seats during the Gold Cup.
The Club World Cup featured many teams with global presences. FIFA used a pricing model for general admission tickets to tournament games, fluctuating costs based on demand. The model, which will be used at next summer’s World Cup, allows for FIFA to capitalize on the fan interest in games featuring bigger clubs.
Pricing proved to be unreasonable heading into the tournament. At one point, the opening game between Inter Miami and Al Ahly was set at $349 before eventually dropping to $55.
Club World Cup champions Chelsea experienced the pricing inconsistencies throughout its campaign.
The demand will surely be higher for the World Cup but the United States wants to see improvements. After the Gold Cup, American midfielder Tyler Adams said he has yet to see a pro-U.S. crowd in the four finals he has competed in with the national team. Pochettino also expressed some dissatisfaction, saying football without fans is impossible.
Washington Post reporter Goff said anticipation surrounding the team’s progress is related to the diversity of the United States as a country.
“What will change that is a stronger U.S. team,” Goff said.
With CONCACAF putting U.S. Gold Cup and Nations League games in bigger venues, the turnout was not reflective of the fan interest the team experiences outside of the World Cup. When it is up to the United States’ discretion, the team typically elects to play exhibition games in MLS stadiums.
On average, an MLS stadium is one-third of an NFL stadium’s capacity. Villaverde disagrees with the notion that soccer fandom is lacking in the United States.
“I was watching the Copa América last year and remember reading people from Europe saying ‘The stadiums are empty,’” Villaverde said. “I was like ‘No, you don’t have those (large) kinds of stadiums in Europe.’”
Villaverde believes soccer is growing in the United States and credits the MLS for it. The league has built stadiums and helped clubs like Phoenix Rising with youth development initiatives.
Attention on the U.S.
More eyes are on the league since its media rights deal with Apple went into effect – stemming from the addition of global superstar Lionel Messi.
Rueda also attributed the growth of soccer to the MLS. He regularly watches the league, and not just to keep an eye on his Honduran players.
After being awarded the World Cup bid, former U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro envisioned a world where soccer became the pre-eminent sport in North America. While soccer is actively growing in the United States, seven years later, it has not met Cordeiro’s expectations.
While it lags in popularity compared to the major sports in the United States, Goff said soccer has its place as it continues to grow.
“It doesn’t have to be (the top sport in this country),” Goff said. “It grew again this summer, the women have pushed it forward and the World Cup next year will be the next landmark moment for the sport.”
In spite of that growth, Goff said it is tough to incentivize fans to buy tickets when prices are unreasonable and the U.S. men’s team is struggling. Now, nine months away from the World Cup, it is fair to wonder why the anticipation levels were not seen throughout the two major tournaments played in the U.S. this summer.
The United States has plenty to figure out over the coming months. There will not only be a hyperfocus on the men’s performance on the field as one of the host nations, but off it as well.
The second Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has raised concern about traveling, some athletes have said, giving them pause about coming to play in the United States.
Trump, who recently made headlines for sharing the stage with Chelsea as James hoisted the Club World Cup trophy, was sitting next to Infantino during the final. While Infantino has said the world is welcome for the 2026 World Cup, Trump’s approach to immigration has sparked questions and concerns about the country’s readiness for 2026 and of FIFA itself.
For Kah, the United States needs to show unity – not division.
“When you’re going to host the World Cup, obviously you want your country to be in the best possible shape,” Kah said. “Let’s learn to be human, football brings us together, it never divides us. Humans divide humans.”
The preparation and talk will soon come to a halt and the players will have the responsibility of determining where soccer stands in the United States. June 12, when the whistle blows for its opening game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, a magnifying glass will be on Pochettino and the U.S. men’s team – bearing the responsibility that comes with this World Cup specifically.
“This is really a chance to grow the sport and grow the program,” Goff said. “Pochettino has to do some serious evaluation to see who is up for that challenge.”
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