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With the World Cup in 2026 being in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the United States national team won’t have to go through World Cup qualification in Concacaf since they will host. While that’s great as the team won’t have to worry about how they’ll make it to the biggest tournament on earth, but it also sees the team lose a lot of competitive matches ahead of time. The team will feature in Nations League but with a group consisting of El Salvador and Grenada, that’s not exactly the competition that will test the team ahead of it, and neither will the Gold Cup, but it looks like they could be participating in another tournament.
After Leeds United’s 3-1 loss to Manchester City, midfielder and USMNT captain Tyler Adams let a bit of news slip when joining the NBC Sports sideline desk.
“Now, leading into this World Cup, we have some big tournaments,” Adams said. “We have the Nations League, we’re going to have the opportunity to play in Copa America, which is going to be huge for us, and if you can have your guys healthy in tournaments like that, you gain experience and hopefully some more young guys are coming through the pipeline right now.”
The key tidbit there is the opportunity to play in Copa America, a tournament consisting of Comenbol teams that occasionally invites teams from other federations. The U.S. Soccer Federation has not confirmed that the team will participate in the competition yet. The United States last took part in the 2016 edition which was hosted in the U.S. as well. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the competition, the USMNT won their group before being knocked out in the semifinals at the hands of Argentina, who lost in the final to Chile.
Considering that Argentina won the World Cup, being able to face off against them again will help the United States prepare for top competition on their home soil. Mexico and Canada are also expected to be invited to the 2024 edition of the tournament which was expected to take place in Ecuador.
After the South American country pulled out of the running to host the tournament, Comenbol are also looking for a host nation that leaves a chance for the United States to jump in. It’s unclear who will be coaching the team in 2024 with Gregg Berhalter’s tenure uncertain with an expiring contract, but taking part in a tournament like Copa America can only be a positive for a team needed top-tier competition.
In history, the U.S. have played in four Copa Americas, making the semifinals twice in 1995 and 2016. The 1995 edition included a historic 3-0 win over Argentina and a victory over Mexico in the quarterfinals.
