- Fri, Jun 12 — USA vs Paraguay — Los Angeles Stadium, Los Angeles · Group D · 9:00 PM ET
- Fri, Jun 19 — USA vs Australia — Seattle Stadium, Seattle · Group D · 3:00 PM ET
- Thu, Jun 25 — Turkiye vs USA — Los Angeles Stadium, Los Angeles · Group D · 10:00 PM ET
USA World Cup 2026 Kickoff Times
All USA kickoff times are shown in your local timezone, auto-detected from your browser. USA play their group stage matches in Los Angeles and Seattle. Use the timezone selector above to convert match times to ET, GMT, CET, IST, AEST, or any timezone. Set your available hours to see which USA matches fit your schedule. For the full tournament schedule, the printable schedule, or a custom calendar, pick the tool that fits.
About USA at World Cup 2026
The United States are co-hosting a World Cup for the first time since 1994, when the tournament helped launch Major League Soccer and changed the trajectory of American football. Expectations are enormous, but the build-up has been uneven. This should be a celebration, but there's a nagging sense that the team isn't quite ready for the moment that's been building for over a decade.
American World Cup history has its peaks. The 1930 team reached the semi-finals, though the tournament was a very different beast. In 2002, they reached the quarter-finals and beat Mexico along the way. The 2014 campaign featured a famous group-stage draw with Portugal, and the 2022 run included that defining win over Iran in the group stage. But there have been lows too, most notably failing to qualify entirely in 2018, a result that felt like a national embarrassment.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino was hired as the blue-chip appointment to guide the team through a home tournament, but the results have been patchy. Steering a national team with limited competitive matches is a unique challenge, and the form has dipped after an initial uptick. The defensive issues remain a concern, with consistency at the back proving elusive throughout his tenure. The goalkeeping situation is unusually unsettled for a host nation.
Christian Pulisic is the undisputed star and the face of this squad. His goal against Iran in 2022, sprinting into a cross and crashing into the goalpost, is the defining image of this generation. He's got the talent and temperament for big moments. Around him, there's quality in midfield and attack, but the depth doesn't match the top European nations. The tournament will ask questions about how far talent and home support can carry a team that's still finding its best eleven.
Group D is no cakewalk. Turkiye are loaded with individual attacking talent, Australia are stubborn and experienced, and Paraguay won't give anything away cheaply. The opener against Paraguay in Los Angeles carries enormous pressure, because failing to win would pile immediate scrutiny on Pochettino and the entire project. The Turkiye match could be the group decider.
Home advantage is a genuine factor but not a guarantee. South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014, and Qatar in 2022 all demonstrated that hosting doesn't automatically translate into results. The US should advance from the group, but the knockout rounds will quickly reveal whether this team has the quality to compete with Europe and South America's best. A quarter-final would be considered a success. Anything beyond that would be a genuine surprise, and anything less than the round of 32 would be a disaster.