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The Fifa World Cup began as one of the biggest global sports tournaments since its creation in 1930, where Uruguay would be the first to host. From then on, countless nations would place bids in an attempt to host the most viewed sporting event in the world. Organizing a nationwide event isn’t as easy as it sounds. Funding the venues is always expensive, and the United States would only host the tournament for the first time in 1994.
This is the only time in men’s national team soccer history where the World Cup took place in America. In the rest of this article, we’ll talk about the other time the US hosted the men’s FIFA World Cup as well as their involvement in previous World Cups. While we can’t quite count it yet, the US will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament for the second time ever in US World Cup history.
Host nations never have to play qualifying matches to get into the World Cup, so this was crucial for giving the US men’s players extra rest ahead of the tourney. The format would be six Groups, A-F, composed of four teams per group. The United States would be placed in Group A alongside Romania, Switzerland and Columbia.
After tying their first game to Switzerland, the US would barely scrape by to the round of 16, placing 3rd overall in Group A with four points but still qualifying for the playoffs. Their next opponents, the fearsome Brazil, would humble the United States and knock them out of the World Cup Round of 16 in a 1-0 bout.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is on the horizon, and the United States will be co-hosting alongside Canada and Mexico! This will once again make sports history, as it will be the first World Cup occurring in three countries with 48 total teams!
The United States team has participated in 11 total FIFA men’s World Cups, dating back to the first tournament in 1930, where they would make it to the semi-finals, the furthest they’d ever make it to date in US World Cup history. The star-spangled nation would compete in seven straight World Cups from 1990 to 2014 before surprisingly not qualifying for the 2018 bracket.
The US performance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup was spectacular, as they would battle opposing nations of Germany, Portugal, and Ghana in the “Group of Death” (Group G). Making it out of Group G just 2nd place behind a World Cup-winning German squad, the US would lose 2-1 in the round of 16 to a dominant Belgium team. After a great performance given the circumstances of their group, it was shocking to see them not qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
As their pool of talented young players grew, the US would prove themselves to be among the best national teams in the coming years, qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Under their new-found identity, the United States Men’s National Team would put up a heavy fight in Group B against rival nations England, Iran, and Whales. With five total points in the group, the US would move on once again to the round of 16 to face a seemingly unbeatable Dutch squad, who would dominate the US in a 3-1 game, knocking them out of the most recent FIFA World Cup.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.