Since June 13, 2018, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have known that they were co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It set in motion a series of events that will culminate next summer when the world’s tournament kicks off in Mexico City and ends with the World Cup trophy being presented in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
For the national teams of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, it created the challenge of trying to keep their team progressing through competition in the absence of having to qualify for the World Cup. Some erroneously believe that the host of a World Cup would have the entire world to choose from in scheduling matches, but with each confederation having several competitions along with World Cup qualifying, getting games against quality opponents becomes a daunting task.
So, how did the co-hosts schedule matches? They each had different approaches to their friendlies due to a number of factors. However, where they succeeded is helping Concacaf strike a deal to host the 2024 Copa América in the United States. In January 2023, Concacaf and CONMEBOL announced a strategic partnership that included the USA hosting South America’s confederation tournament.
It created a competition that used the existing Concacaf Nations League as qualifying, allowing for the co-hosts to add more competitive matches and the chance to play in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. The USMNT had to get through the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals to qualify for the 2024 Copa América. Mexico also qualified via that route, while Canada, who lost in shocking fashion in the quarterfinals, had to qualify through a playoff in March 2024 to get into the tournament.
It allowed for the co-hosts to have at least one competition to participate in each year before the 2026 World Cup: the 2023 and 2025 Gold Cup, the 2024 Copa América, and Concacaf Nations Leagues in 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025. The 2022-2023 edition of the tournament had the co-hosts compete in the group stage, while they received a bye to the quarterfinals in the later editions of the tournament.
After those tournaments, the teams had to get by in the other windows with friendlies. Since the 2022 World Cup ended, the USMNT have played friendlies against Mexico, Uzbekistan, Oman, Germany, Ghana, Slovenia, Colombia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Panama, Mexico (away), Venezuela, and Costa Rica, with pre-Gold Cup friendlies scheduled in June against Türkiye and Switzerland. The United States has found it very difficult with the way the schedules are currently structured to find big-time teams to play, leaving them to really.
There are 4 more FIFA international windows after the Gold Cup is over for the team to schedule friendlies, so the USMNT, along with Mexico and Canada, would need to get creative to land the teams they want to test themselves against in the lead up to the World Cup. In previous windows, you’ve seen the three co-hosts have the same opponents as teams come to North America with two matches lined up against available teams. The most recent example was in September 2024, when Mexico and the USMNT both played Canada and New Zealand in friendlies during the window. In the fall, fans can expect to see more of that as teams try to double up on North American friendlies to make the trip over worth the expense.
The 2026 World Cup is just 14 months away, and the opportunities to schedule matches that will excite fans and prepare the team for the big tournament are dwindling. The hope is that they can continue to bring in the teams that will allow them to get as prepared as possible to welcome the world in 2026.
