The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
, represents the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in men's international
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
. The team is governed by the
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...
, which is a member of FIFA since 1914 and was a founding member of
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
since 1961. It was also affiliated with
NAFC, which was a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF and the governing soccer body in North America from 1946 to 1961.
The U.S. has appeared in eleven
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
s, including the first in
1930, where they reached the semifinals; their third-place finish, which was later awarded through overall tournament records, is the best result by a team from outside
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
and
CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...
. They returned in
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
and
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
, defeating
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
1–0 in the latter, but did not qualify again until
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
. As host in
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, the U.S. received an automatic berth and lost to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
in the round of 16. They qualified for the next five World Cups, a feat shared with only seven other nations. The U.S. reached the quarterfinals at the
2002 World Cup, and eliminated top-ranked
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in the
2009 Confederations Cup semifinals before losing to Brazil in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
.
The United States also competes in continental tournaments, including the
CONCACAF Gold Cup,
CONCACAF Nations League
The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...
and
Copa América
The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
. The U.S. has won seven Gold Cup titles, three Nations League titles, and finished fourth place in two Copa América editions in
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
and
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
.
History
Early years
The first United States national soccer team was constituted on November 28, 1885, when it played
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in the first international match held outside the United Kingdom.
Canada defeated the U.S. 1–0 at Clark Field in the
East Newark neighborhood of
Kearny, New Jersey. A second match in East Newark the following year resulted in the U.S. defeating Canada 1–0, although neither match was officially recognized.
The U.S. earned both silver and bronze medals in
men's tournament at the
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...
in
St. Louis through
Christian Brothers College and St. Rose Parish, though the tournament is declared official only by the
IOC; FIFA does not endorse tournaments held before 1908. The U.S. played its first official international match under the auspices of
U.S. Soccer on August 20, 1916, against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, where the U.S. won 3–2.
The U.S. fielded a team in the
1930 World Cup in
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
, the first edition of the World Cup. The U.S. began group play by beating
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
3–0, and then earned a 3–0 victory over Paraguay, with FIFA crediting
Bert Patenaude with two of the goals. In November 2006, FIFA announced that it had accepted evidence that Patenaude scored all three goals against Paraguay, and was thus the first person to score a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
in a World Cup. In the semifinals, the U.S. lost to
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
6–1 and were eliminated. There was no third place game; however, using the overall tournament records in 1986, FIFA credited the Americans with a third-place finish ahead of fellow semifinalist
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
. This remains the U.S. team's best World Cup result, and is the highest finish of any team from outside of South America and Europe.
The U.S. qualified for the
1934 World Cup by defeating
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
4–2 in Italy a few days before the tournament opened.
In a straight knock-out format, the team first played host
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and lost 7–1, eliminating the U.S. from the tournament. At the
1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, the U.S. lost 1–0 to Italy in the first round and were eliminated. Italy went on to win both tournaments.
The
1950 World Cup in Brazil was the next World Cup appearance for the United States, as it withdrew in 1938 and the tournament was not held again until 1950 due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The U.S. lost its first match 3–1 against
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, but then
won 1–0 against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
at
Independência Stadium in
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...
. Striker
Joe Gaetjens was the lone goalscorer in the match, which was called "The Miracle on Grass" and considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of the World Cup. The U.S. were eliminated from the tournament in their third game, a 5–2 defeat to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
.
1960s–1980s
The national team spent the mid-to-late 20th century in near complete irrelevance in both the international game and the domestic sporting scene. CONCACAF had only one World Cup berth until 1982.
Playing only two matches from 1981 to 1983, U.S. Soccer targeted the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...
in Los Angeles and the
1986 World Cup to rebuild the national team and its fan base. The International Olympic Committee declared that teams from outside Europe and South America could field full senior teams. The U.S. finished with a 1–1–1 record in the
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
of the tournament but did not qualify for the second round, losing to Egypt on a tiebreaker.
To provide a more stable national team program and renew interest in the
North American Soccer League, U.S. Soccer entered the national team into the NASL league schedule for the 1983 season as
Team America. This team lacked the continuity and regularity of training that conventional clubs enjoy, and many players were unwilling to play for the national team instead of their own clubs when conflicts arose.
Team America finished the season at the bottom of the league, with U.S. Soccer canceling the experiment and withdrawing the national team from the NASL after one season. By the end of 1984, the NASL had folded, leaving the U.S. without a single professional-level outdoor soccer league.
The 1986 World Cup was hosted by Mexico after
Colombia withdrew from contention due to economic concerns and the United States lost their subsequent bid to host. In the last game of CONCACAF qualifying for the 1986 World Cup, the U.S. needed only a tie against Costa Rica to reach the final qualification group against Honduras and Canada. U.S. Soccer scheduled the game to be played in
Torrance, California
Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...
, an area with many Costa Rican expatriates, and marketed the game almost exclusively to the Costa Rican community. Costa Rica won the match 1–0, and kept the U.S. from reaching its fourth World Cup finals.
1990s
On July 4, 1988, FIFA named the U.S. as the host of the
1994 World Cup under significant international criticism given the perceived weakness of the national team and the lack of a professional outdoor league. The success of the 1984 Olympics played a role in FIFA's decision. The U.S. qualified for the
1990 World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...
with a
1–0 win against
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
in the last match of the
1989 CONCACAF Championship
The 1989 CONCACAF Championship was the tenth and final edition of the CONCACAF Championship held under the format of serving as 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification, qualification to the 1990 FIFA World Cup and having no host nation for the final ro ...
. Mexico had been disqualified from the CONCACAF Championship for using ineligible players in a youth tournament, which allowed a chance for the U.S. to qualify for their first World Cup in 40 years.
The team was coached by
Bob Gansler,
Wisconsin-Milwaukee and U20 national team coach, in preparation for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Two of the team's more experienced players,
Rick Davis and
Hugo Perez, were unavailable for selection while recovering from injuries. Rather than fill out his team with veteran professionals from U.S.
indoor soccer
Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...
leagues, Gansler and his assistant Stejem Mark chose to select many younger players with better conditioning for the outdoor game, including several collegiate players such as
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
goalkeeper
Tony Meola
Antonio Michael Meola (; ; born February 21, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he pla ...
. The U.S. entered the tournament as major underdogs and lost all three of its group games to Czechoslovakia, Italy, and Austria. Defenders
Jimmy Banks and
Desmond Armstrong became the first African Americans to appear in a World Cup match for the United States.
During the
1993 U.S. Cup, a tournament designed to prepare for the upcoming World Cup, the U.S. beat England 2–0. After qualifying automatically as the host of the 1994 World Cup under
Bora Milutinović, the U.S. opened the tournament schedule with a 1–1 tie against Switzerland in the
Pontiac Silverdome
The Pontiac Silverdome (also known as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the fi ...
in the suburbs of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, the first World Cup game played indoors. In its second game, the U.S. faced
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, then ranked fourth in the world, at the
Rose Bowl near
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. Aided by an
own goal
An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net.
In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...
from
Andrés Escobar, the U.S. won 2–1; Escobar was later
murdered
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...
in his home country, possibly in retaliation for this mistake. Despite a 1–0 loss to Romania in its final group game, the U.S. made it past the initial round for the first time since 1930. In the round of 16, the U.S. lost 1–0 to the eventual champion
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. U.S. Soccer later fired Milutinović in 1995 because he was reportedly not interested in administrative duties in addition to coaching.
The U.S. were invited to play in the
1995 Copa América, where they finished first in their group after defeating
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
and
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
in an upset victory. In the quarterfinals, the U.S. defeated
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
on penalties, and then lost to Brazil 1–0 in the semifinals. The United States finished fourth after losing to Colombia in the third-place match.
In the
1998 World Cup in France, the team lost all three group matches, 2–0 to
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, 2–1 to
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, and 1–0 to Yugoslavia, finishing last in the field of 32. The tournament was marred by disputes between the players and head coach
Steve Sampson, who resigned shortly after the tournament.
2000s

Under former
D.C. United head coach
Bruce Arena, the U.S. qualified for the
2002 World Cup and reached the quarterfinals, their best finish in a World Cup since 1930. The team earned four points in the group stage, beginning with a 3–2 win over
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, followed by a 1–1 tie with co-host and eventual semifinalist
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. The third and final match was a 3–1 loss to Poland; the team still advanced to the round of 16 when South Korea defeated Portugal. The U.S. met continental rivals
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
for the first time in a World Cup, and won the game 2–0, with goals from
Brian McBride
Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former association football, soccer player who played as a forward (association football), forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham F.C., Fulham and Chicago Fire SC, Chicago Fire. He is the sixt ...
and
Landon Donovan
Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional association football, soccer player and coach who was most recently the interim head coach of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Often co ...
. In the quarterfinals, the USMNT met
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and lost 1–0 after being controversially denied a penalty when
Torsten Frings handled the ball to prevent a
Gregg Berhalter goal. Donovan won the Best Young Player for the tournament.
In the
2006 World Cup, after finishing top of the CONCACAF qualification tournament, the U.S. was drawn into Group E along with the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
. The United States opened the tournament with a 3–0 loss to the Czech Republic. The team then tied 1–1 against eventual winners Italy, and then were knocked out of the tournament when they were beaten 2–1 by Ghana in its final group match, with
Clint Dempsey scoring the U.S.'s only goal in the tournament (the goal against Italy had been an own goal by Italian defender
Cristian Zaccardo). Following the tournament, Arena's contract was not renewed; his assistant, former
Chicago Fire and
MetroStars head coach
Bob Bradley
Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American association football, soccer coach, who most recently managed Norwegian football team Stabæk Fotball, Stabæk fron 2023 - 2024.
A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton Universi ...
, became interim head coach in December 2006 and was selected for the full-time role in May 2007.
After winning the
2007 Gold Cup against Mexico, the USMNT qualified for the
2009 Confederations Cup. The U.S. shocked the soccer world by defeating top-ranked Spain, who were on a 35-game undefeated streak, 2–0. With the win, the United States advanced to its first-ever final in a men's FIFA tournament. The team lost 3–2 to Brazil after leading 2–0 at half-time. Hosting the
2009 Gold Cup, the United States was beaten by Mexico 5–0 in the final; this defeat broke the U.S. team's 58-match home unbeaten streak against CONCACAF opponents, and was the first home loss to Mexico since 1999 and their first home loss in a competitive match since 1998.
In the
fourth round
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama
...
of the 2010 World Cup qualification,
Jozy Altidore became the youngest U.S. player to score a hat-trick, in a 3–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. On October 10, 2009, the U.S. secured qualification to the 2010 World Cup with a 3–2 win over Honduras. Four days later, the U.S. finished in first place in the final round of qualification with a 2–2 tie against Costa Rica.
2010s

In the
2010 World Cup, the USMNT was drawn into
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...
against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
and
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
. After drawing against England 1–1 and Slovenia 2–2, the U.S. defeated Algeria 1–0 with a stoppage-time goal from Landon Donovan, taking first place in a World Cup group for the first time since 1930. In the round of 16, the U.S. was eliminated by
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
, 2–1.
After losing to Mexico 4–2 in the final of the
2011 Gold Cup, Bob Bradley was relieved of his duties and former
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
manager
Jürgen Klinsmann was hired as head coach. The U.S. won 1–0 in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, Italy on February 29, 2012, the team's first-ever win over Italy. In July 2013, the United States became North American champions for the fifth time after winning the
Gold Cup with a 1–0 victory over Panama in the final, with Landon Donovan winning the tournament's golden ball award. A 4–3 victory over
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
in an international friendly match in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
represented the 12th consecutive win for the USMNT, the longest active winning streak for any team in the world at that time. The winning streak ended September 6, when the U.S. lost to Costa Rica 3–1 in
San José in
the final round of qualification. The U.S. eventually clinched a spot in the
2014 World Cup.
The Americans were drawn into
Group G Group G may refer to:
* A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...
, along with Ghana, Germany, and Portugal. The U.S. won 2–1 in their rematch with Ghana, and then tied their second group game against Portugal 2–2. In the final game of the group stage, the U.S. fell to Germany 1–0, but moved on to the
knockout stage
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
on goal difference. This was the first time that the team made two consecutive trips to the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup. In the round of 16, the U.S. lost 2–1 to Belgium in extra time, despite goalkeeper
Tim Howard making a World Cup record 15 saves during the match.

In the
2015 Gold Cup, the U.S. were eliminated by Jamaica 2–1 in the semifinals, before losing to Panama on penalties in the third place match. It marked the first time the team failed to make the tournament final since 2003. In the 2015
CONCACAF Cup playoff to determine the region's entry to the
2017 Confederations Cup, the U.S. were defeated 3–2 by Mexico at the Rose Bowl. The results led to criticism of Klinsmann's coaching style, particularly the lack of a cohesive identity.
In June 2016, the U.S. hosted the
Copa América Centenario, a special edition of the Copa América to commemorate the centenary of the tournament and its first to be played outside of South America.
In their third Copa América appearance,
the U.S. topped
Group A
Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...
on goal difference against Colombia despite losing to them, and then beat
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
2–1 in the quarterfinals. The team lost 4–0 to
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
in the semifinals and 1–0 to Colombia again in the third place match. The U.S. finished fourth overall, tying their best finish ever in 1995.
Following consecutive losses to Mexico and Costa Rica in the opening games of the
final round of qualification for the
2018 World Cup, Klinsmann was removed as national team coach and technical director and replaced by previous U.S. head coach Bruce Arena. World Cup qualification resumed on March 24, 2017, where Arena and his team achieved a record 6–0 win over
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
. The U.S. earned their third ever result in World Cup qualification at the
Estadio Azteca when they drew 1–1 against Mexico. In July 2017, the U.S. won their sixth
Gold Cup with a 2–1 win over Jamaica in the final. Following a
2–1 defeat to Trinidad and Tobago on October 10, 2017, the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, missing the tournament for the first time since 1986. Many pundits and analysts called this the worst result and worst performance in the history of the national team.
Following Arena's resignation on October 13, 2017, assistant coach
Dave Sarachan was named interim head coach during the search for a permanent replacement. The search for a permanent head coach was delayed by the
USSF presidential election in February 2018 and the hiring of
Earnie Stewart
Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. (born March 28, 1969) is an American former Association football, soccer player who played as a Forward (association football)#Forward, forward or midfielder. His career spanned 17 years from 1988 until his retirement in ...
as general manager in June 2018.
Gregg Berhalter, coach of the
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...
and a former USMNT defender, was announced as the team's new head coach on December 2, 2018.
Under Berhalter the team lost in the
2019 Gold Cup final 1–0 against
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and were unable to defend their title.
2020s
An influx of new young talent playing for top European clubs, widely described as America's
golden generation
In sport, a Golden Generation, or Golden Team is an exceptionally gifted group of players of similar age, whose achievements reach or are expected to reach a level of success beyond that which their team had previously achieved. The term was firs ...
, entered the national team in the late 2010s and early 2020s, including
Christian Pulisic
Christian Mate Pulisic (born September 18, 1998) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for club AC Milan and the United States men's national soccer team, United States natio ...
,
Weston McKennie,
Tyler Adams
Tyler Shaan Adams (born February 14, 1999) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays for club AFC Bournemouth, Bournemouth and the United States men's national soccer team, United States national team. Primarily ...
,
Timothy Weah,
Sergiño Dest, and
Gio Reyna. This new group won the inaugural
CONCACAF Nations League
The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...
in 2021 with a 3–2 victory against Mexico in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
. A different roster won the
Gold Cup against Mexico later that summer, contributing to a record for wins in a calendar year, with 17 wins, three ties, and two losses in 2021.
The United States qualified for the
2022 World Cup by finishing third in the
final qualifying round. Grouped with England, Iran, and
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
in
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...
, the team advanced to the
knockout stage
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
as runners-up with five points and without losing a game. There, they faced the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and were defeated 3–1. Midfielder
Kellyn Acosta became the first
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).
Although this term had historically been used fo ...
player to appear for the U.S. at a World Cup.
After Berhalter's contract expired in December 2022, the U.S. searched for a new head coach. Under interim manager
B.J. Callaghan in June 2023, the United States successfully defended their Nations League trophy by winning the
2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League. The team conceded no goals in the
finals tournament, winning 3–0 against Mexico and 2–0 against Canada in the
final match. Callaghan remained the team's manager for the
2023 Gold Cup the following month, which was played with a different roster. The U.S. were eliminated in the semifinals by Panama after losing a penalty shootout.
The United States automatically qualified for the
2026 World Cup as co-host in February 2023, and secured a spot at the U.S.-hosted
2024 Copa América by defeating Trinidad and Tobago 4–2 over two legs in
November 2023. Gregg Berhalter was reappointed as coach of the United States on June 16, 2023. In March 2024, the United States won their
third CONCACAF Nations League title by defeating Mexico 2–0 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
. At the Copa América, the United States were eliminated in the
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
, with a 1–0 loss in the final group stage match against
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
involving several controversial decisions against the Americans from referee
Kevin Ortega, including a potentially offside Uruguay goal and handling of yellow cards. Following the team's elimination, Berhalter was fired as head coach on July 10, 2024.
On September 10, 2024,
Todd Boehly and the USMNT's delegates agreed to an undisclosed exit fee for former
Chelsea manager
Mauricio Pochettino, and Pochettino would subsequently be announced as the new head coach of the United States, replacing Berhalter. In March
2025
So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
the U.S. lost to
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
0–1 in stoppage time, marking the first time they've been eliminated from a
CONCACAF Nations League
The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...
title.
Team image
Uniform and crest
Since their first unofficial game against Canada, the most common U.S. uniform has been white tops with blue shorts. A variant with a diagonal stripe or "sash" across the shirt similar to
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
's jersey was first adopted in 1950 and used in various uniforms in the 2000s. A color scheme based on the
U.S. flag—usually a shirt with red and white stripes with blue shorts—has been occasionally used (most prominently in the 1994 World Cup and 2012–13 qualifiers as well the 1983
Team America franchise of the
North American Soccer League).
German brand
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
provided the uniform for the United States from 1984 to 1994. Since 1995, American company
Nike has been the uniform supplier. The final Adidas jersey was a
denim
Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more Warp (weaving), warp threads. This twill weave produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. Denim, as it is recognized today, was f ...
-inspired blue shirt with white stars paired with red shorts.
Uniform suppliers
Rivalries
Mexico
The United States and Mexico have been the most successful teams in CONCACAF and are major rivals.
The two countries first met in 1934 during a
World Cup qualifier in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
that the U.S. won; Mexico won the following 24 meetings and were perennial qualifiers for the World Cup. Since 1980, the U.S. has had more wins against Mexico, particularly in home matches and major tournaments. They faced off in the
round of 16
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
of the
2002 World Cup, with the United States winning 2–0. On August 15, 2012, the U.S. defeated Mexico at
Estadio Azteca in the first victory for the Americans on Mexican soil in 75 years. On October 10, 2015, Mexico defeated the U.S. 3–2 in the
CONCACAF Cup in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
to qualify for the
2017 Confederations Cup. Thirteen months later, on November 11, 2016, El Tri defeated the U.S. in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
for their second consecutive victory on American soil, in
qualification
Qualification may refer to:
Processes
* Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress
* Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
for the 2018 World Cup. In 2021, the United States defeated Mexico three times in a calendar year for the first time, winning the
CONCACAF Nations League final, the
Gold Cup final, and in
2022 World Cup qualifying.
Ever since their first meeting in 1934, the two teams have met 78 times, with Mexico leading 37W–17T–24L, outscoring the U.S. 147–92. However, because of recent growth of
soccer in the U.S., since the beginning of the 21st century, the U.S. leads the series 19W–8T–10L. Either the United States or Mexico has won every edition of the
Gold Cup except one (the
2000 Gold Cup was won by Canada).
Canada
The U.S. has a secondary rivalry with
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, with the rivalry stemming from a generally
friendly rivalry between the two countries. The United States has historically been the stronger side, having qualified for 11 World Cups while Canada has qualified for two.
On October 15, 2019, Canada defeated the United States for the first time in 34 years, at
BMO Field
BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Constructed on the former Exhibition Stadium site and first opened in 2007, it is the home field of Toronto FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Toronto Ar ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. In
2022 World Cup qualifying, Canada tied 1–1 with the U.S. in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, and defeated the USMNT 2–0 in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
. On June 18, 2023, the United States defeated Canada 2–0 in the
CONCACAF Nations League final in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. The U.S. defeated Canada yet again in a
2023 Gold Cup quarterfinal matchup, this time 3–2 on penalties, in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, Ohio.
The United States currently leads the series at 18W–11T–11L.
Costa Rica
In the 2010s, the United States began to develop a rivalry with
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
. The impetus for the rivalry was a
2014 World Cup qualifying match played on March 22, 2013, at
Dick's Sporting Goods Park in
Commerce City, Colorado under blizzard conditions. Costa Rica filed a protest with FIFA due to field conditions after the United States won the game 1–0, but were denied recourse. The game was dubbed "
Snow Clasico" for the conditions. The United States have never won an away match in Costa Rica, losing 10 meetings and drawing twice.
Ghana
The United States has a friendly rivalry with
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
that has developed primarily through their repeated meetings on the World Cup stage. Though the two countries are not traditional football rivals and have limited encounters outside of FIFA tournaments, their matches at the 2006, 2010, and 2014 World Cups have created a unique and memorable competitive history.
The rivalry began in the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...
when Ghana defeated the United States 2–1 in the group stage, eliminating the Americans from the tournament and advancing to the round of 16 in their first-ever World Cup appearance. In 2010, the two sides met again, this time in the round of 16. Ghana once more emerged victorious with a 2–1 win after extra time, knocking the U.S. out of the tournament for a second consecutive time. Their third World Cup encounter came in 2014 during the group stage. In a closely contested match, the U.S. earned a 2–1 victory—its first World Cup win against Ghana—thanks to a late goal that helped secure a path to the knockout rounds.
Supporters

There have been two main
supporter groups backing U.S. Soccer teams,
Sam's Army and
The American Outlaws. Sam's Army started shortly after the
1994 World Cup and were active through 2014. Sam's Army members wore red to matches and sung or chanted throughout the match, and often brought huge U.S. flags and other banners to the game.
The American Outlaws began in
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...
, in 2007 as a local supporters' group. The group's membership attempted to address a lack of consistency from game to game in supporter organization and social events on match days.
The U.S. men's national team has a major following on
social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
platforms. Interest in young American players and the attention they bring has led to an increase in foreign investment in U.S. players, soccer development programs, and sports clubs.
Home stadium
The United States does not have a dedicated
national stadium
Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...
like other national teams; instead, the team has played their home matches at various venues across the country. , the team has played in 124 stadiums in 30 states and the
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
.
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, located in the national capital of Washington, D.C., has hosted 24 matches, the most of any stadium. The state of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
has hosted 119 matches, the most of any state, and
greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...
has hosted 81 matches at several venues in and around the city of LA. The
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...
hosted 20 matches from 1965 to 2000. The
Rose Bowl, a 92,000-seat venue in
Pasadena, has hosted 17 national team matches, as well as the
1984 Olympics gold medal match, the
1994 World Cup final, and the
1999 Women's World Cup final.
Media coverage
TNT Sports has the English language rights for U.S. Soccer broadcasts from 2022 to 2030. All matches are streaming live on
Max
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
with matches also on
TNT and
TBS. In June 2021,
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
acquired partial rights to select U.S. Soccer matches, including World Cup qualifiers and the Nations League finals, to be broadcast on
CBS Sports Network
CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...
and the
Paramount+
Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...
streaming service.
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
has the Spanish language rights to all U.S. Soccer broadcasts from 2023 to 2030. These agreements do not apply to World Cup away qualifiers, whose rights are distributed by the host country.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2024
2025
All-time results
The following table shows the United States all-time international record, correct as of June 15, 2025.
Staff
Coaching staff
Technical staff
Players
Current squad
The following 26 players were named for the
Friendly matches against
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
on June 7 and 10, 2025 and
2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
''
Caps and
goals are updated as of June 15, 2025 after the match against
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
.''
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up for the team within the last twelve months.
*
PRE = Preliminary squad
*
INJ = Injured
Individual records
.
:Players in bold are still active with the national team.
Most appearances
Top goalscorers
Competitive record
The United States has competed at the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
, the
CONCACAF Gold Cup, the
CONCACAF Nations League
The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...
, and the
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
. The team has also played in the now-defunct
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...
, the
Copa América
The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
, as well as several minor tournaments.
The best result for the United States in a World Cup tournament came in
1930 when it reached the semifinals. The team included six naturalized internationals, five of them from Scotland and one from England. In the modern era, the team's best result came in
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, when it reached the quarterfinals. Its worst World Cup tournament results in were group-stage eliminations in
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
,
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, and
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
; the team failed to qualify altogether for the final tournament in
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
. The United States reached the round of 16 in
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
,
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, and
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
In the
Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six Continental football championships, continental champions ...
, the United States finished in third place in both
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
and
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, and were runner-up in
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
. The team appeared in its first intercontinental tournament final at the 2009 Confederations Cup, where it lost to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
3–2 after leading 2–0 at halftime.
The U.S. men's soccer team first played in the Summer Olympics in
1924. From that tournament to
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
, only amateur and state-sponsored Eastern European players were allowed on Olympic teams. The Olympics became a full international tournament in 1984 after the
IOC allowed full national teams from outside
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
's strongest confederations of
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
and
CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...
. Since
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
the men's Olympic event has been age-restricted, to those 23 years and younger, with the exception (since 1996) of up to three overage players; participation has been by the
United States men's national under-23 soccer team.
In regional competitions, the United States has won the
CONCACAF Gold Cup seven times, with its most recent title in 2021. The team has won all three
CONCACAF Nations League
The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...
editions that have been played so far, including the inaugural 2021 final. Its best finish at the
Copa América
The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
was fourth place at the
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
and
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
editions, while it competed as the host nation in
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
, failing to advance past the group stage.
FIFA World Cup
Summer Olympics
CONCACAF Gold Cup
''CONCACAF Championship 1963–1989, CONCACAF Gold Cup 1991–present''
CONCACAF Nations League
Copa América
FIFA Confederations Cup
Head-to-head record
Honors
Major competitions
Worldwide
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
** Third place (1):
1930
*
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...
** Runners-up (1):
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
** Third place (2):
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
,
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
*
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
** Silver medal (1):
19041
** Bronze medal (1):
19041
Continental
*
CONCACAF Championship/
Gold Cup
**

Champions (7):
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
,
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
,
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
,
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
,
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
,
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
,
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
** Runners-up (6):
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
,
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
,
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
,
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
,
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
** Third place (2):
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
,
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
*
CONCACAF Nations League
The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...
**

Champions (3):
2019–20,
2022–23,
2023–24
*
CONCACAF Cup
** Runners-up (1):
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
Regional
*
NAFC Championship2
** Runners-up (1):
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025
* January 2 – Luis ...
** Third place (1):
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
*
North American Nations Cup
The North American Nations Cup was an association football competition organized by NAFU as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from North America. The tournament was held in 1990 and 1991.
Canada, United States and Mexi ...
** Runners-up (1):
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
** Third place (1):
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
Friendly
*
U.S. Cup (3):
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
,
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
,
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
*
Marlboro Cup (2):
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
,
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
Awards
*
CONCACAF Gold Cup Fair Play Trophy (6): 2003, 2009, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023
Summary
Only official honors are included, according to ''FIFA statutes'' (competitions organized/recognized by
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
or an affiliated confederation).
;Notes:
# Demonstrations matches played by club teams, officially not recognized by FIFA.
# Official senior competition organized by
NAFC. It was a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF and affiliated with FIFA as the governing body of soccer in North America, from 1946 to 1961.
See also
*
Fútbol de Primera Player of the Year
The Fútbol de Primera Player of the Year, formerly known as the Honda Player of the Year, recognizes the best player on the United States men's national soccer team, United States Men's National Soccer Team, as chosen by the national sports media. ...
*
*
U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association
*
U.S. Soccer Player of the Year
*
United States men's national under-17 soccer team
*
United States men's national under-20 soccer team
The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years.
The United States' b ...
*
United States men's national under-23 soccer team
*
United States women's national soccer team
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...
Notes
References
External links
*
U.S. Soccer Scheduleat USSF
U.S. Soccer Resultsat USSF
U.S. Matchesat FIFA
U.S. National Soccer Team Players AssociationU.S. soccer teamat Association of Football Statisticians
USA Men's National Team: Current Value of Players on Team
{{Portalbar, Association football, United States
North American national association football teams
United States Soccer Federation
1916 establishments in the United States
National sports teams established in 1916