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The United States is steaming headlong towards an era-defining 2026 World Cup on home soil, but there's plenty of roadblocks along the way, with the FIFA championship still more than two years in the future.

Following a disappointing Copa America result where the USMNT crashed out of the group stage, head coach Gregg Berhalter was dismissed, with Mauricio Pochettino coming aboard.

2024 was meant to be a vital year in the build towards the 2026 World Cup, but instead the Copa America proved a step back. Still, the USMNT must press on, and there will be a number of matches to close out the calendar year that will be important for Pochettino to sort out his best squad.

A number of international friendlies are still to come, including against Mexico south of the border, while CONCACAF Nations League play looms in November.

MORE: How Mauricio Pochettino fits as new USMNT head coach after Berhalter exit

USMNT schedule, fixtures for 2024

A disappointing Copa America saw the U.S. beaten by Panama and Uruguay, forced to hit the reset button by parting ways with Gregg Berhalter and signing former Champions League finalist Mauricio Pochettino.

Prior to that, the U.S. secured its third straight CONCACAF Nations League title in March, while contesting a challenging pair of pre-Copa America friendlies against Colombia and Brazil.

Still to come arefour international friendlies for the September and October international breaks, contesting matches on home soil against Canada, New Zealand, Panama, and Mexico. The U.S. men have never suffered defeat to the former three, but playing Mexico on the road presents a tough challenge.

They will then finish the calendar year with a two-legged November matchup against a yet-to-be-determined quarterfinal opponent in the next iteration of the CONCACAF Nations League. Potential opponents include Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala or any other surprise qualifier from the league phase of the competition.

MORE: A closer look at the full history between the USMNT and Mexico

DateCompetitionMatchLocationTime (ET)TVStreaming
Sat, Jan. 20International FriendlyUSA 0-1 SloveniaSan Antonio, TX
(Toyota Field)
3 p.m.HIGHLIGHTS
Thu, Mar. 21CONCACAF Nations League
Semifinals
USA 2-1 Jamaica
(a.e.t.)
Arlington, TX
(AT&T Stadium)
7 p.m.HIGHLIGHTS
Sun, Mar. 24CONCACAF Nations League
Final/3rd Place
USA 2-0 MexicoArlington, TX
(AT&T Stadium)
9:15 p.m.HIGHLIGHTS
Sat, Jun. 8International FriendlyColombia 5-1 USALandover, Md.
(FedEx Field)
5:30 p.m.HIGHLIGHTS 
Wed, Jun. 12International FriendlyUSA 1-1 BrazilOrlando
(Camping World Stadium)
7 p.m.HIGHLIGHTS 
Sun, Jun. 232024 Copa America
Group Stage
USA 2-0 BoliviaArlington, TX
(AT&T Stadium)
6 p.m.HIGHLIGHTS 
Thu, Jun. 272024 Copa America
Group Stage
USA 1-2 PanamaAtlanta, GA
(Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
6 p.m.HIGHLIGHTS 
Mon, Jul. 12024 Copa America
Group Stage
USA 0-1 UruguayKansas City, MO
(Arrowhead Stadium)
9 p.m.HIGHLIGHTS 
Sat, Sep. 7International FriendlyUSA vs. CanadaKansas City, KS
(Children's Mercy Park)
7 p.m.TBS, TelemundoSling, Max, Peacock
Tue, Sep. 10International FriendlyUSA vs. New ZealandCincinnati, OH
(TQL Stadium)
7 p.m.TNT, truTV, UniversoSling, Max, Peacock
Sat, Oct. 12International FriendlyUSA vs. PanamaAustin, TX
(Q2 Stadium)
9 p.m.TNT, Telemundo, UniversoSling, Max, Peacock
Tue, Oct. 15International FriendlyMexico vs. USAEstadio Akron
(Guadalajara, Mexico)
4 p.m.TNTSling, Max
Mon, Nov. 18CONCACAF Nations League QuarterfinalsTBDCITYPARK (St. Louis, MO)TBD Fubo
TBD (Nov, 2024)CONCACAF Nations League QuarterfinalsTBDTBDTBD Fubo

USA crashes out of 2024 Copa America in Group C

The U.S. was drawn into an intriguing Group C for the 2024 Copa America, but was to advance to the knockout stage from the four-team collection.

Unfortunately, they failed to meet that mark, with a devastating defeat to Panama punctuated by an early red card for Tim Weah that left them chasing the result a man down. They were unable to match up after that, and left themselves a must-win match against title hopefuls Uruguay.

The Marcelo Bielsa-led side was in good form, having beaten both Argentina and Brazil in the early stages of CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifying, and it was too big a task for Gregg Berhalter and company, falling 1-0 to confirm their exit from the competition.

MORE: Why Gregg Berhalter had to go after the USMNT's 2024 Copa America failure

USA wins 2023/2024 CONCACAF Nations League

The U.S. got past Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, thanks in large part to a 3-0 first leg win at home, which set them up for advancement. That result proved vital, as they dropped the second leg on the road 2-1 but advanced anyways thanks to their aggregate advantage.

In the Nations League semifinals, the U.S. used a last-minute own goal by Jamaica's Cory Burke to force extra time, where the USMNT eventually prevailed over Jamaica, 3-1. Then, in the finals in Arlington, Texas, the USMNT dominated Mexico, winning another Dos a Cero to lift the Nations League title. 

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal matchups were between four seeded teams, which earned a bye to this round, against four qualifiers from the group stage. They were contested across two legs back in November of 2023.

Match1st Leg2nd leg
#2 USA 4-2 Trinidad and Tobago3-02-1
#4 Costa Rica 1-6 Panama0-33-1
#3 Canada 4-4 Jamaica*2-12-3
#1 Mexico** 2-2 Honduras2-02-0

* Advanced on away goals tiebreaker
** Advanced via penalty shootout

Semifinals

To determine semifinal matchups, quarterfinal winners are re-seeded, placed in a table based on their results across the two quarterfinal legs.

DateTimeMatchup
Mar. 21, 20247 p.m.USA 3-1 Jamaica AET
Mar. 21, 202410:15 p.m.Panama 0-3 Mexico

Third Place

DateTimeMatchup
Mar. 24, 20246 p.m.Jamaica 1-0 Panama

Final

DateTimeMatchup
Mar. 24, 20249:15 p.m.USA 2-0 Mexico

United States U-23 to compete in 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris

While the women's side of the Olympics features a fully professional roster, the men's competition is restricted to a U-23 tournament.

Teams must deploy a roster of players entirely comprising of youth-team individuals, with three exemptions per nation. Those three players may be any individuals, so head coaches must use their roster selections wisely.

While in theory they can pick from any players in the national team pool, in practice that's unrealistic, as the Olympics take place just a short time after the Copa America or Euros, and a short time before the start of the club season, meaning it's impossible to ask players to participate in both. Thus, players who participate with their senior national teams in major tournaments are almost universally ruled out of selection for their Olympic squad.

Group stage

The United States was drawn into Group A of the men's Olympics bracket, alongside hosts France, who are coached by Thierry Henry. The USYNT beat France in a friendly back in the March international window.

Group A standings

Pos.NationPtsGPW-L-DGD
1.France000-0-00
2.USA000-0-00
3.TBD (AFC/CAF playoff)000-0-00
4.New Zealand000-0-00

Group A fixtures

DateTime (ET)MatchLocation
Wed, Jul. 2411 a.m.TBD vs. New ZealandAllianz Riviera
(Nice, France)
Wed, Jul. 243 p.m.France vs. USAOrange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Sat, Jul. 271 p.m.New Zealand vs. USAOrange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Sat, Jul. 273 p.m.France vs. TBDAllianz Riviera
(Nice, France)
Tue, Jul. 301 p.m.New Zealand vs. FranceOrange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Tue, Jul. 301 p.m.USA vs. TBDStade Geoffroy-Guichard
(Saint-Etienne, France)

Knockout stage

Should they qualify by finishing top two in their group, the knockout stage path for the United States will be determined by their group stage position. Finishing first in Group A sees them match up against the second place finisher in Group B, while a second-place finish in Group A sees them take on Group B's winner.

Group B includes Argentina, Ukraine, Morocco, and a to-be-determined qualifier from the Asian confederation.

Quarterfinals

DateTime (ET)MatchLocation
Fri, Aug. 29 a.m.QF2: 1st, Group B vs. 2nd, Group AParc des Princes
(Paris, France)
Fri, Aug. 211 a.m.QF4: 1st, Group D vs. 2nd, Group CGroupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)
Fri, Aug. 21 p.m.QF3: 1st, Group C vs. 2nd, Group DOrange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Fri, Aug. 23 p.m.QF1: 1st, Group A vs. 2nd, Group BMatmut Atlantique
(Bordeaux, France)

Semifinals

DateTime (ET)MatchLocation
Mon, Aug. 512 p.m.Winner, QF1 vs. Winner, QF3Orange Velodrome
(Marseille, France)
Fri, Aug. 23 p.m.Winner, QF2 vs. Winner, QF4Groupama Stadium
(Lyon, France)

Third Place

DateTime (ET)MatchLocation
Thu, Aug. 811 a.m.Loser, SF1 vs. Loser, SF2Stade de la Beaujoire 
(Nantes, France)

Final

DateTime (ET)MatchLocation
Fri, Aug. 912 p.m.Winner, SF1 vs. Winner, SF2Parc des Princes
(Paris, France)

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Author(s)
Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.