USMNT books elite opponents for World Cup prep: Portugal, Germany and Belgium await

The U.S. men’s national soccer team will face a series of heavyweight opponents in the buildup to the 2026 World Cup, starting in March with friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in Atlanta and ending with a send-off match against Germany in Chicago six days before its tournament opener.

The U.S. Soccer Federation also announced Tuesday that a fourth game against a yet-to-be-determined team will take place May 31.

“This is a massive opportunity to challenge ourselves against some of the top teams in the world,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said in a written statement. “These are incredible matches for the players and for the fans.”

In the final international window before Pochettino will select his 26-man World Cup squad in late May, the 14th-ranked United States will play No. 8 Belgium on March 28 and No. 6 Portugal, expected to feature Cristiano Ronaldo, on March 31. Both will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a World Cup venue with a retractable roof that, by the time those friendlies are played, will have been fitted with natural grass for the summer spectacle.

It’s quite rare for the USSF to schedule two games in the same window at the same venue, but the federation has been strengthening its ties to the Atlanta area by moving its headquarters from Chicago and building a national training center in suburban Fayetteville, Georgia. (The 200-acre facility is due to open in April or May.)

Arthur Blank, who pledged $50 million to the training center project, owns the NFL and Major League Soccer teams housed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as well as a National Women’s Soccer League expansion team that will play there starting in 2028. His company operates the 71,000-seat arena.

The U.S. team will meet Belgium for the seventh time — and first since the 2014 World Cup Round of 16 in Brazil, won by the Red Devils in extra time, despite Tim Howard’s record 16 saves. Led by Napoli midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Belgium sailed through qualifying this year with a 5-0-3 record and plus-22 goal differential to secure its fourth consecutive berth.

Since Portugal’s last visit to the United States in 1992, the teams have met twice in the World Cup group stage: 2002 in South Korea, won 3-2 by the U.S., and 2014 in Brazil, a 2-2 draw. A semifinalist in 2006 and quarterfinalist in 2022, Portugal this fall qualified for its seventh consecutive tournament.

Because World Cup stadiums are off limits close to the tournament, the USSF needed to look elsewhere for the final two tuneups. Chicago withdrew from the venue bidding process because of FIFA’s contract terms, while Charlotte was not a finalist. (Because it has an artificial surface; Bank of America Stadium will install grass.)

Ninth-ranked Germany, a four-time world champion, will return to Chicago for the first time since a 4-3 victory over the United States in 1993. Most recently, the sides met in an October 2023 friendly in East Hartford, Connecticut, won by Germany, 3-1.

The U.S. opponent in Charlotte hinges on the outcome of the World Cup draw, which will take place Friday in Washington. The USSF will not schedule a game against a country that lands in the same group as the U.S. team.

Group pairings are not an issue with Belgium, Portugal and Germany, all of whom, based on their top-nine ranking, will join the hosts (the United States, Mexico and Canada) as top seeds in the 12 groups.

Assuming the Charlotte opponent is also a World Cup side, the U.S. team will enter the competition after 11 consecutive matches against adversaries that qualified for the summer spectacle. The first seven — all also at home — were against Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Ecuador, Australia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

After losing to Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final in July and to South Korea in a September friendly, Pochettino has overseen a 4-0-1 surge with a 12-4 goal differential, including a 5-1 rout of Uruguay last month in Tampa.

With teams eager to maximize their experience in the World Cup host countries before the competition, Portugal will play Mexico at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on March 28 and Belgium will face Mexico on March 31 in Chicago.