This international window may have ended in disappointment for the United States men’s national team, but on the bright side — depending on who you ask — there will be more chances for this team to show that losses to Panama and Canada were bumps in the road instead of a worrying trend ahead of the World Cup.
Usually, the summer between major international tournaments would lead to time off for some of the core members of the USMNT with the Gold Cup taking place in off years between Concacaf Nations League and the World Cup, but that may not be the case this summer. With the United States, Canada, and Mexico all hosting the 2026 World Cup and earning automatic qualification for the expanded tournament, they won’t be taking part in Concacaf World Cup qualification which picks back up in June.
Due to not having those competitive matches and Concacaf scheduling being tied up through the World Cup for major nations, the summer window needs to be maximized for the USMNT as it is their best chance to face strong competition before the window in the lead up for the World Cup. Scheduling-wise, it seems like U.S. Soccer may also understand these issues with summer friendlies scheduled for early June against Türkiye and Switzerland before the Gold Cup takes place.
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Facing strong opposition like that is a good test, but it’s also something that signals a potential to bring the first team to the Gold Cup instead of a roster of domestic based players. One major difference in club management as compared to international management is uninterrupted training time, which Mauricio Pochettino needs to truly get the best out of his squad.
They only had three days of training prior to the Concacaf Nations League compared to players who were in January camp having a few weeks with the Argentine manager. With the first friendly being on June 7 and the Gold Cup final being set for July 6, Pochettino could potentially have a month with the squad if the UMSNT are able to advance to the final. It’s a critical moment in World Cup prep and there’s the added benefit of Saudi Arabia being the team that was invited to the Gold Cup.
The USMNT would have a chance to face up to eight teams in the top 60 of the FIFA men’s rankings and will be guaranteed to at least face two teams currently in the top 30 of those rankings. Getting the players together for a significant period while facing top opposition is a critical chance that this team can learn a lot during.
They were disjointed in defense facing Canada and the only way to fix issues like that is with reps together. Pochettino would also have time to coach through mistakes while helping the team build new ways to do things such as break down a low block. Pochettino spoke about the fact that things may need time after falling to Canada and the Gold Cup is a major chunk of time that he could have with the squad.
“I’ve seen some times that teams that were building to play in the World Cup, they were not good until around the World Cup,” Pochettino said. “I want to send a message to the fans, don’t be pessimistic and don’t get bad feelings.”
The easiest way to ease concerns is by winning games and playing good soccer but with such a long window, there’s potentially time for the USMNT to show growth. They certainly showed a need for growth during Nations League play and a summer without club commitments could be just what the doctor ordered to get them out of their current funk of poor performances.
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