We don't want to waste your time — this post is not about what's next in terms of who will coach the USMNT moving forward or the roles of Christian Pulisic and Malik Tillman in the future of the program.
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No, this is about the nitty gritty. What competitions are next for U.S. Soccer's men's side — the women have a World Cup next summer in case you're unaware — and what will the Yanks be doing between the end of this tournament and the 2030 World Cup in Portugal, Spain, and Morocco (and, for three games, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay)?
There's also the matter of a home Olympics in Los Angeles, a U-23 competition led by program legend Steve Cherundolo which is bound to draw some bigger names to the overage pool (only three players over the age of 23 are allowed to join a roster).
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It's going to be a lot different than the last cycle when the USMNT did not have to qualify for the World Cup and it'll be a bit different in general as FIFA have shaken up their international calendar.
The U.S. will get an expanded international break from September 21 - October 6, where there will be four matches played and those will not include the fifth edition of the CONCACAF Nations League — there's a group stage draw forthcoming on July 23 but the Yanks are very, very likely set to be one of four nations to receive a bye to November's quarterfinals.
The Americans are in League A with Canada, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
November's international break will be home-and-away matches against a group stage qualifier for the right to compete in next March's semifinals and either third-place match or final (March 25-28, 2027)
The Yanks will then warm up for next summer's Gold Cup with two friendlies June 7-15 before the tournament proper.
There were reports that the 2028 Copa America was awarded to the United States as part of a deal to host the 2024 Copa America.
If that's true, the Yanks will again face a summer deciding how to best use their talent for two huge tournaments — as in 2024 — and this time both will be on American soil.
The men qualify as hosts for the 2028 Olympics, and that tournament — a u23 roster with three overage players — will run from July 10-29.
Dates for the 2028 Copa America are not set but the 2024 edition was held June 20-July 14 and the 2021 tournament ran from June 13-July 10.
There are still questions about how CONCACAF World Cup qualifying will look for 2030 because there will be three more teams in the pool after the United States, Canada, and Mexico all bypassed qualifying for the 2026 World Cup as tri-hosts.
The qualification tournament should begin for the United States sometime in 2028. CONCACAF's automatic 2026 World Cup berths were awarded over about 20 months between late March 2024 and November 2025.
2022 World Cup qualifying for CONCACAF was conducted in barely over a year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the 2018 World Cup, the U.S. did not enter the qualification process until the fourth round, which started a 23-month run that ultimately did not end with a place in the World Cup.
