When Will the USMNT Play Again After the World Cup?

The USMNT will start its chase for the Nations League title in the fall.

Christian Pulisic won’t wear the Stars and Stripes for several months. | Soccrates Images / Getty Images

As Belgium looks toward Friday’s clash with Spain in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. men’s national team will have to wait a few more months before it returns to the pitch, likely in September.

After falling 4–1 to Belgium in an embarrassing effort in the round of 16, the USMNT will have to wait until friendlies and regional competitions resume to come back together, while plenty of questions hang over manager Mauricio Pochettino’s future and the entire player pool. 

For several USMNT players, club action starts as soon as next week with their MLS teams, while others will have to wait until their seasons begin in Europe next month.

The next FIFA international window is not until late September, opening on Sept. 21 and running until Oct. 6, presenting the opportunity to play four matches, either in the Concacaf Nations League or friendlies. It marks the first time that teams will play a four-match window in the fall, after FIFA altered its international match calendar to combine the previous two-game windows in September and October. 

While it is unknown how the schedule will work out, the USMNT is likely to play a mix of friendly and competitive matches within that window.

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When Are the Next Competitive USMNT Games?

The USMNT will start the search for a fourth Concacaf Nations League title in the fall. | Omar Vega/Getty Images

The USMNT will compete in the Concacaf Nations League this fall, a secondary continental tournament for the national teams of North America, Central America and the Caribbean; however, the specific match dates and USMNT opponents have yet to be released.

Concacaf will hold the draw for Nations League play on July 23, which will determine the USMNT’s opponents for the group stage. The tournament culminates in semifinals and finals to be played in the spring of 2027. The USMNT finished fourth in the last Nations League in 2024-25 but won the first three editions of the tournament, which began in 2019.

As for potential friendly opponents, the USMNT would likely be unable to face a European team, as UEFA plans to hold a four-game Nations League window that would take up the entire international break. Those limitations would make the USMNT most likely to take on an Asian, African or South American team, with Oceania remaining a possibility as well.

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