The U.S. men will open the World Cup on Friday in Inglewood, California, playing before a home crowd and under the spotlight of a national tournament staged on American soil. Mauricio Pochettino, the coach charged with steering the squad, has not yet indicated which 11 players he will start against Paraguay as the kickoff approaches.
Home interest has been overwhelming: 32,000 people applied for 5,500 spots to watch a practice in Irvine on Monday, and last week a sellout crowd at Soldier Field watched the team fall in a friendly to Germany. The roster will play three group-stage games in cities across the country, with the second match scheduled in Seattle a week later. Cristian Roldan framed the moment as personal and public: "slightly different experience" than 2022, and "For me in my backyard, and my adopted city, to be able to have three group-stage games in the cities that I spent my whole life, I mean, it’s a beautiful story, honestly."
Pochettino, who has managed Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, was hired to lead the U.S. men for this World Cup and brings a 15-10-1 record with the team so far. His pedigree includes a run to the 2019 Champions League final while at Tottenham; his task now is both tactical and psychological, balancing expectation at home with the choices that make a coherent starting XI.
The context is unmistakable: the home-soil setting has magnified everything the U.S. did and did not do in recent years. Two years ago the team hosted Copa América and failed to reach the knockout stage, a result that cost Gregg Berhalter his job. That unfinished business hangs over the squad even as packed stadiums and training sessions create an electric backdrop for the tournament opener.
Players say the attention can be fuel as much as it is a burden. Joe Scally said the group plans to build on the experience of playing for fans: "I think a lot of us experienced that pressure and kind of that feeling of what it means to play for the fans, so for us we’re kind of taking that experience and gonna build off it." Tim Ream noted the appetite around the team and the scene in Irvine: "I think we’ve all been, I wouldn’t say overwhelmed, but pleasantly surprised by the excitement and the buzz around the team and in the stadiums. Pulling up here with 5,500 fans ready to watch a training session is incredible." Christian Pulisic added that the crowd support "gives you that extra level of comfort" and motivates players not to let supporters down.
But the late-week loss to Germany underlined how quickly home optimism can turn to scrutiny. The friendly and the Copa América exit are the friction points Pochettino must answer for with selection and results. Matt Turner captured part of that uncertainty: "There was not a ton of clarity" in the lead-up, a remark that feeds the central question coaches and fans both now discuss — who starts, and why?
Practically, supporters arriving for the usa game tomorrow should expect a charged atmosphere, a team still settling tactical details, and a lineup that could include veterans and younger players who have long known one another from youth camps. The U.S. reached the round of 16 in 2022, finished third in the inaugural 1930 World Cup and has advanced past the quarterfinals just once, in 2002 — history that frames how big a breakthrough this tournament would be.
The immediate story to watch is selection: Pochettino has choices that will reveal whether he trusts continuity, experience or urgency in attack and defense. The most consequential answer — his starting XI — remains unresolved going into Friday’s opener in Inglewood, and that decision will shape whether the home crowds become the team’s advantage or the source of mounting pressure.
