With just one more full year to go in the 2026 World Cup cycle, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has precious few chances against top-tier competition to get the USMNT ready for that all-important competition.

Led by stars Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie, and the rest of the core group of players, the United States men are set to host that tournament on home soil next summer.

Until then, it's all about preparing the squad for the biggest stage.

After flopping in the final two matches of the 2024/25 CONCACAF Nations League in March, the U.S. will disappointingly head into the summer with the 2025 Gold Cup now in full view.

There are also whispers of Pochettino trying to arrange a friendly with Lionel Messi and his native Argentina at some point before the World Cup, so that could be on the horizon as well.

Remember, as 2026 World Cup hosts, the United States will not contest CONCACAF qualification, and neither will Canada nor Mexico, so finding competitive fixtures with tangible stakes will be paramount to the team's preparation.

The Sporting News brings you an overview of the confirmed 2025 fixture list for the U.S. men's national team as it becomes available, including how to watch each game as well as highlights and recaps from all completed matches.

MORE: A look back at the 2024 schedule for the USMNT with highlights and results

USMNT schedule, fixtures for 2025 calendar year

As it does every year, the USMNT will begin 2025 with January camp, which falls outside an official FIFA international window. This year, faced Venezuela and Costa Rica in friendlies to end January camp at Chase Stadium, the home of MLS side Inter Miami, to begin the fixture list.

In March, the U.S. participated in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals, losing to both Panama and Canada in widely disappointing fashion.

This coming summer, the USMNT will contest the 2025 Gold Cup, which is the final complete competitive tournament before the 2026 FIFA World Cup the following summer. Prior to the Gold Cup, the U.S. will play a pair of warmup friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland.

MORE: USMNT roster for January camp friendlies vs. Venezuela, Costa Rica

Date	Competition	Match	Location	Time (ET)	TV	Streaming
Sat, Jan. 18	International Friendly*	USA 3-1 Venezuela	Chase Stadium (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)	3 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS
Wed, Jan. 22	International Friendly*	USA 3-0 Costa Rica	Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando, FL)	7 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS
Thu, Mar. 20	CONCACAF Nations League Semifinals	USA 0-1 Panama	SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, CA)	7 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS	RECAP
Sun, Mar. 23	CONCACAF Nations League Third Place	USA 1-2 Canada	SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, CA)	6 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS	RECAP
Sat, June 7	International Friendly	USA 1-2 Turkey	Rentschler Field (Hartford, CT)	3:30 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS	RECAP
Tue, June 10	International Friendly	USA 0-4 Switzerland	GEODIS Park (Nashville, TN)	8 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS	RECAP
Sun, Jun. 15	CONCACAF Gold Cup Group stage	USA 5-0 Trinidad & Tobago	PayPal Park (San Jose, CA)	6 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS
Thu, Jun. 19	CONCACAF Gold Cup Group stage	USA 1-0 Saudi Arabia	Q2 Stadium (Austin, TX)	9:15 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS	RECAP
Sun, Jun. 22	CONCACAF Gold Cup Group stage	USA 2-1 Haiti	AT&T Stadium (Dallas, TX)	7 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS
Sat, Jun. 28	CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinals	USA 2-2 Costa Rica USA adv. 4-3 on pens	U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis, MN)	7 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS	RECAP
Wed, Jul. 2	CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinals	USA 2-1 Guatemala	Energizer Park (St. Louis, MO)	7 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS	RECAP
Sun, Jul. 6	CONCACAF Gold Cup Final	USA 1-2 Mexico	NRG Stadium (Houston, TX)	7 p.m.	HIGHLIGHTS	RECAP
Sat, Sep. 6	International Friendly	USA vs. South Korea	Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)	5 p.m.	English: TNT Spanish: Telemundo	English: Sling, Max Spanish: Peacock, Fubo
Tue, Sep. 9	International Friendly	USA vs. Japan	Lower.com Field (Columbus, OH)	7:30 p.m.	English: TNT Spanish: Universo	English: Sling, Max Spanish: Peacock, Fubo

* This match occurs outside an official FIFA international window, and therefore clubs are not required to release players for international duty.
** If USA qualifies for this stage

USMNT face Venezuela, Costa Rica in January camp

To begin the 2025 calendar year, the U.S. men met Venezuela on January 18 in Ft. Lauderdale, followed by another game four days later against Costa Rica in nearby Orlando.

The friendly matches fell at the conclusion of the annual January camp, which allowed the coaching staff to get some extra time to teach and evaluate domestic-based players in the middle of their offseason. It was the first time that January camp ended with two games instead of one as Mauricio Pochettino looks to get a closer eye on the domestic player pool. 

Because January camp falls outside a designated FIFA international break, clubs are not required to release their players for international duty. Thus, the roster was mostly made up of North American-based players in the midst of their offseason, with most European-based participants unavailable to participate.

With most of the main USMNT stars playing in Europe, this allowed Mauricio Pochettino to get time with players on the fringes of the roster who may be called upon either by merit or in the event of injury trouble.

USMNT in CONCACAF Nations League semifinals

With a 5-2 aggregate victory over Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League back in November, the United States faced Panama in the semifinals of the competition from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.

Sitting as three-time defending champions of the competition, the USMNT had lifted the trophy in every iteration of the Nations League until this year, as a shocking 1-0 defeat to Panama saw them fall short of the goal for the first time.

That stunning loss saw the U.S. face Canada in the third-place match, where they were beaten again, this time by a 2-1 score thanks to a Jonathan David winner in the 60th minute. The pair of losses were a massive disappointment compared to the hype around Pochettino's hire.

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

USA falls in 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup final

The 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup was meant to give the USMNT a last opportunity to play a full competitive environment before the 2026 FIFA World Cup rolls around.

Held primarily west of the Mississippi River to limit travel with the Club World Cup taking place concurrently on the east coast, the U.S. had looked to dethrone defending champions Mexico, but fell short at the final hurdle.

Beginning on June 14, the Gold Cup group stage ran for 10 days. The United States were drawn into Group D alongside Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti, and guest participants Saudi Arabia, which saw Mauricio Pochettino's side win all three games.

The quarterfinals began on June 28, where the U.S. toppled Costa Rica on penalties. They progressed through the knockout stage before finishing with the final on July 6 at NRG Stadium in Houston, which resulted in a 2-1 loss to Mexico.

Pochettino brought a team devoid of numerous starters, due to injuries, Club World Cup participation, or elected absences in the case of Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah. Notably, they fell to a Mexico team in the final which had brought its best roster to the competition.

USA U-20 to compete in 2025 World Cup

The United States U-20 team will take part in the 2025 U-20 FIFA World Cup which begins in late September and runs through the middle of October.

Hosts Chile will welcome 24 teams from around the world for the competition. Thanks to a runner-up finish at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship last summer, the U.S. was named one of four CONCACAF youth sides set to participate alongside Mexico, Panama, and Cuba.

The U.S. has competed in all but six of the U-20 World Cup tournaments since it was first held in 1977, but has only ever progressed past the quarterfinals once, back in 1989 when they finished fourth.

It is possible that highly-touted youth prodigy Cavan Sullivan could take part in this event despite the fact he is still just 15 years old. Sullivan made headlines when he became the youngest-ever player to participate in an MLS match this past year, breaking the long-standing record held by Freddy Adu.