The US men’s national team will play two friendlies this upcoming January at separate MLS-based venues in Southern California to begin the 2026 World Cup cycle, the federation announced Wednesday.
The matches will be the first in the four-year run-up to hosting the world’s biggest sporting event – the 2026 FIFA World Cup – alongside Canada and Mexico. That tournament will feature 48 teams for the first time, and all three Concacaf nations will automatically qualify as hosts.
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports will exclusively present the January 2023 games, with specific distribution plans and kickoff times to be announced at a later date.
Series history
Serbia will feature at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as will the USMNT, and they’re similarly ranked in the top 25 of the latest FIFA World Ranking. Colombia narrowly missed qualification for Qatar, placing sixth in South America’s pathway.
The USMNT have never defeated Serbia in their three prior meetings, last drawing the Orlovi 0-0 during a January 2017 friendly in San Diego, Calif. Colombia are a more frequent foe, with the Yanks posting a 3W-13L-4D record all-time against Los Cafeteros. They last met during an October 2018 friendly, topping the USMNT 4-2 in Tampa, Fla.
2022 World Cup
For the World Cup in Qatar, the USMNT’s Group B schedule is as follows and the top two teams will advance to the knockout rounds.
- Nov. 21 vs. Wales (2 pm ET)
- Nov. 25 vs. England (2 pm ET)
- Nov. 29 vs. Iran (2 pm ET)
Head coach Gregg Berhalter will name the USMNT’s 26-man World Cup roster at an event in New York City on Nov. 9. They’re back in the World Cup for the first time since 2014, placing third in Concacaf’s qualification pathway
