Is the USMNT Ready for the World Cup? | OneFootball

Time has flown by and we are already in April. As crazy as it sounds, the FIFA World Cup is now just two months away. Co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, people have been waiting for this since it was announced back in 2018.

The USMNT have an opportunity to do something special. Excitement was building before the March window, as the squad was on a five-game unbeaten run to close out 2025, which included a 5-1 win over Uruguay and a 2-0 win over Japan.

Unfortunately, reality hit.

Poch: “Why Not Us”

Mauricio Pochettino knows that his job isn’t just to train the USMNT. He also has to sell the team to the public. No host nation can have success in the World Cup without strong fan support.

So in interviews before this March window, he kept repeating the phrase: “Why not us? Why not us?”

It’s a simple question. We’ve seen teams go on Cinderella runs in previous World Cups, so why can’t the USMNT do that for this tournament? Pochettino brought up the likes of South Korea in 2002 and Morocco in 2022, who both went to the semifinals. He aims to replicate their success this summer with the Americans.

So in the March international break two benchmark opponents were lined up. Belgium and Portugal would provide a great test for the USMNT, and playing in front of over 70,000 USMNT fans in Atlanta would give the players a massive boost. What could go wrong!?

Disastrous Showing in Atlanta

The USMNT’s recent form, combined with general World Cup excitement, brought in just under 140,000 spectators to this pair of friendlies. Many USMNT players compete in top European leagues, and on paper aren’t far below the Portuguese and Belgian players in quality. So people expected competitive games.

Which they didn’t get. Despite taking the lead against Belgium off a Weston McKennie goal, the USMNT conceded five straight and ultimately lost 5-2. Their second goal wasn’t really earned; Ricardo Pepi and Patrick Agyemang merely capitalized on a Belgian defensive mistake.

USMNT supporters wanted to see a reaction in the next game against Portugal. Pochettino made some changes, including putting Christian Pulisic up top and benching the three strikers he brought to camp.

The USMNT had a good first half again, but were simply no match for Portugal at the end and lost 2-0. Portugal’s second goal just highlights the USMNT’s problems, as João Félix got far too much time and space to control the ball and pick his spot.

The mood has suddenly changed in the USMNT camp. In his post-game interview Pochettino commented that “Belgium and Portugal have, in the top 100 players, [a] few or some players in that top 100. I think we don’t have [any].” Wow. What happened to “Why not us?”

Is this team ready for the World Cup? In those matches iIt certainly didn’t seem like it.

Whose Stock Rose, Whose Fell

Johnny Cardoso only played 45 minutes this camp due to injury. But he might be one of the players that benefitted the most from these games. The midfielder put in a great performance in the first half against Belgium. When he came off, the team looked like they collapsed in the middle of the park and conceded four goals in the second half.

His replacement, Cristian Roldan, didn’t really cover himself in glory. He was heavily criticized by fans all over social media due to his mistakes in the game and poor marking.

Other midfielders who got a lot of criticism were Aidan Morris and Sebastian Berhalter. Both didn’t look like they belong on that level. Meanwhile, Tim Ream is really showing his age going up against forwards that are much younger. Max Arfsten once again showed he’s not capable of replacing Antonee Robinson as he is just so poor at defending.

Ricardo Pepi got very little playing time, but he impressed in that time by pressuring the Belgian defense to make a mistake, which led to the USMNT goal. Patrick Agyemang ended up burying that chance and by doing so, he also made his case to be in that World Cup squad.

In goal, Matt Freese showed that he is much more reliable than Matt Turner at the moment and should be an undisputed starter this summer.

How Far Will This Team Go?

Even when they had a good stretch to end 2025, the USMNT never looked like they can make a deep run in the World Cup. This window helped confirm that.

Happily, there are still two more friendly matches before the tournament starts: against Senegal (May 31) and Germany (June 6).

Even the group stage would be tough. They’ve faced Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey within in last 12 months but in the World Cup setting, these games won’t be easy and it will be a very physical contest.

The USMNT should still make the knockout stage though. And if they get past the Round of 32, it would be a successful World Cup for this team. If they can get past Round of 16 and get to quarterfinals, it would be exceptional.

Hopefully, fans will continue to show up for this team because they need all the support they can get.