Early years The first United States national soccer team was constituted on November 28, 1885, when it played
Canada in the first international match held outside the United Kingdom. Canada defeated the U.S. 1–0 at Clark Field in the
East Newark neighborhood of
Kearny, New Jersey. A second match in East Newark the following year resulted in the U.S. defeating Canada 1–0, although neither match was officially recognized. The U.S. earned both silver and bronze medals in
men's tournament at the
1904 Summer Olympics in
St. Louis through
Christian Brothers College and St. Rose Parish, though the tournament is declared official only by the
IOC; FIFA does not endorse tournaments held before 1908. ,
Sweden The U.S. played its first official international match under the auspices of
U.S. Soccer on August 20, 1916, at Stockholm Olympic Stadium, defeating
Sweden 3–2. The U.S. fielded a team in the
1930 World Cup in
Uruguay, the first edition of the World Cup. The U.S. began group play by beating
Belgium 3–0, and then earned a 3–0 victory over Paraguay, with FIFA crediting
Bert Patenaude with two of the goals. In November 2006, FIFA announced that it had accepted evidence that Patenaude scored all three goals against Paraguay, and was thus the first person to score a
hat-trick in a World Cup. In the semifinals, the U.S. lost to
Argentina 6–1 and were eliminated. There was no third place game; however, using the overall tournament records in 1986, FIFA credited the Americans with a third-place finish ahead of fellow semifinalist
Yugoslavia. This remains the U.S. team's best World Cup result, and is the highest finish of any team from outside of South America and Europe. The U.S. qualified for the
1934 World Cup by defeating
Mexico 4–2 in Italy a few days before the tournament opened. In a straight knock-out format, the team first played host
Italy and lost 7–1, eliminating the U.S. from the tournament. At the
1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, the U.S. lost 1–0 to Italy in the first round and were eliminated. Italy went on to win both tournaments. The
1950 World Cup in Brazil was the next World Cup appearance for the United States, as it withdrew in 1938 and the tournament was not held again until 1950 due to
World War II. The U.S. lost its first match 3–1 against
Spain, but then
won 1–0 against
England at
Independência Stadium in
Belo Horizonte. Striker
Joe Gaetjens was the lone goalscorer in the match, which was called "The Miracle on Grass" and considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of the World Cup. The U.S. were eliminated from the tournament in their third game, a 5–2 defeat to
Chile.
1960s–1980s The national team spent the mid-to-late 20th century in near complete irrelevance in both the international game and the domestic sporting scene. CONCACAF had only one World Cup berth until 1982. Playing only two matches from 1981 to 1983, U.S. Soccer targeted the
1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the
1986 World Cup to rebuild the national team and its fan base. The International Olympic Committee declared that teams from outside Europe and South America could field full senior teams. The U.S. finished with a 1–1–1 record in the
group stage of the tournament but did not qualify for the second round, losing to Egypt on a tiebreaker. To provide a more stable national team program and renew interest in the
North American Soccer League, U.S. Soccer entered the national team into the NASL league schedule for the 1983 season as
Team America. This team lacked the continuity and regularity of training that conventional clubs enjoy, and many players were unwilling to play for the national team instead of their own clubs when conflicts arose. The 1986 World Cup was hosted by Mexico after
Colombia withdrew from contention due to economic concerns and the United States lost their subsequent bid to host. In the last game of CONCACAF qualifying for the 1986 World Cup, the U.S. needed only a tie against Costa Rica to reach the final qualification group against Honduras and Canada. U.S. Soccer scheduled the game to be played in
Torrance, California, an area with many Costa Rican expatriates, and marketed the game almost exclusively to the Costa Rican community. Costa Rica won the match 1–0, and kept the U.S. from reaching its fourth World Cup finals.
1990s On July 4, 1988, FIFA named the U.S. as the host of the
1994 World Cup under significant international criticism given the perceived weakness of the national team and the lack of a professional outdoor league. The success of the 1984 Olympics played a role in FIFA's decision. The U.S. qualified for the
1990 World Cup with a
1–0 win against
Trinidad and Tobago in the last match of the
1989 CONCACAF Championship. Mexico had been disqualified from the CONCACAF Championship for using ineligible players in a youth tournament, which allowed a chance for the U.S. to qualify for their first World Cup in 40 years. The team was coached by
Bob Gansler,
Wisconsin-Milwaukee and U20 national team coach, in preparation for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Two of the team's more experienced players,
Rick Davis and
Hugo Perez, were unavailable for selection while recovering from injuries. Rather than fill out his team with veteran professionals from U.S.
indoor soccer leagues, Gansler and his assistant Stejem Mark chose to select many younger players with better conditioning for the outdoor game, including several collegiate players such as
Virginia goalkeeper
Tony Meola. The U.S. entered the tournament as major underdogs and lost all three of its group games to Czechoslovakia, Italy, and Austria. Defenders
Jimmy Banks and
Desmond Armstrong became the first African Americans to appear in a World Cup match for the United States. During the
1993 U.S. Cup, a tournament designed to prepare for the upcoming World Cup, the U.S. beat England 2–0. After qualifying automatically as the host of the 1994 World Cup under
Bora Milutinović, the U.S. opened the tournament schedule with a 1–1 tie against Switzerland in the
Pontiac Silverdome in the suburbs of
Detroit, the first World Cup game played indoors. In its second game, the U.S. faced
Colombia, then ranked fourth in the world, at the
Rose Bowl near
Los Angeles. Aided by an
own goal from
Andrés Escobar, the U.S. won 2–1; Escobar was later murdered in his home country, possibly in retaliation for this mistake. Despite a 1–0 loss to Romania in its final group game, the U.S. made it past the initial round for the first time since 1930. In the round of 16, the U.S. lost 1–0 to the eventual champion
Brazil. U.S. Soccer later fired Milutinović in 1995 because he was reportedly not interested in administrative duties in addition to coaching. The U.S. were invited to play in the
1995 Copa América, where they finished first in their group after defeating
Chile and
Argentina in an upset victory. In the quarterfinals, the U.S. defeated
Mexico on penalties, and then lost to Brazil 1–0 in the semifinals. The United States finished fourth after losing to Colombia in the third-place match. In the
1998 World Cup in France, the team lost all three group matches, 2–0 to
Germany, 2–1 to
Iran, and 1–0 to Yugoslavia, finishing last in the field of 32. The tournament was marred by disputes between the players and head coach
Steve Sampson, who resigned shortly after the tournament.
2000s during practice Under former
D.C. United head coach
Bruce Arena, the U.S. qualified for the
2002 World Cup and reached the quarterfinals, their best finish in a World Cup since 1930. The team earned four points in the group stage, beginning with a 3–2 win over
Portugal, followed by a 1–1 tie with co-host and eventual semifinalist
South Korea. The third and final match was a 3–1 loss to Poland; the team still advanced to the round of 16 when South Korea defeated Portugal. The U.S. met continental rivals
Mexico for the first time in a World Cup, and won the game 2–0, with goals from
Brian McBride and
Landon Donovan. In the quarterfinals, the USMNT met
Germany and lost 1–0 after being controversially denied a penalty when
Torsten Frings handled the ball to prevent a
Gregg Berhalter goal. Donovan won the Best Young Player for the tournament. In the
2006 World Cup, after finishing top of the CONCACAF qualification tournament, the U.S. was drawn into Group E along with the
Czech Republic,
Italy, and
Ghana. The United States opened the tournament with a 3–0 loss to the Czech Republic. The team then tied 1–1 against eventual winners Italy, and then were knocked out of the tournament when they were beaten 2–1 by Ghana in its final group match, with
Clint Dempsey scoring the U.S.'s only goal in the tournament (the goal against Italy had been an own goal by Italian defender
Cristian Zaccardo). Following the tournament, Arena's contract was not renewed; his assistant, former
Chicago Fire and
MetroStars head coach
Bob Bradley, became interim head coach in December 2006 and was selected for the full-time role in May 2007. After winning the
2007 Gold Cup against Mexico, the USMNT qualified for the
2009 Confederations Cup. The U.S. shocked the soccer world by defeating top-ranked Spain, who were on a 35-game undefeated streak, 2–0. With the win, the United States advanced to its first-ever final in a men's FIFA tournament. The team lost 3–2 to Brazil after leading 2–0 at half-time. Hosting the
2009 Gold Cup, the United States was beaten by Mexico 5–0 in the final; this defeat broke the U.S. team's 58-match home unbeaten streak against CONCACAF opponents, and was the first home loss to Mexico since 1999 and their first home loss in a competitive match since 1998. In the
fourth round of the 2010 World Cup qualification,
Jozy Altidore became the youngest U.S. player to score a hat-trick, in a 3–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. On October 10, 2009, the U.S. secured qualification to the 2010 World Cup with a 3–2 win over Honduras. Four days later, the U.S. finished in first place in the final round of qualification with a 2–2 tie against Costa Rica.
2010s at the
2010 World Cup In the
2010 World Cup, the USMNT was drawn into
Group C against
England,
Slovenia and
Algeria. After drawing against England 1–1 and Slovenia 2–2, the U.S. defeated Algeria 1–0 with a stoppage-time goal from Landon Donovan, taking first place in a World Cup group for the first time since 1930. In the round of 16, the U.S. was eliminated by
Ghana, 2–1. After losing to Mexico 4–2 in the final of the
2011 Gold Cup, Bob Bradley was relieved of his duties and former
Germany manager
Jürgen Klinsmann was hired as head coach. The U.S. won 1–0 in
Genoa, Italy on February 29, 2012, the team's first-ever win over Italy. In July 2013, the United States became North American champions for the fifth time after winning the
Gold Cup with a 1–0 victory over Panama in the final, with Landon Donovan winning the tournament's golden ball award. A 4–3 victory over
Bosnia and Herzegovina in an international friendly match in
Sarajevo represented the 12th consecutive win for the USMNT, the longest active winning streak for any team in the world at that time. The winning streak ended September 6, when the U.S. lost to Costa Rica 3–1 in
San José in
the final round of qualification. The U.S. eventually clinched a spot in the
2014 World Cup. The Americans were drawn into
Group G, along with Ghana, Germany, and Portugal. The U.S. won 2–1 in their rematch with Ghana, and then tied their second group game against Portugal 2–2. In the final game of the group stage, the U.S. fell to Germany 1–0, but moved on to the
knockout stage on goal difference. This was the first time that the team made two consecutive trips to the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup. In the round of 16, the U.S. lost 2–1 to Belgium in extra time, despite goalkeeper
Tim Howard making a World Cup record 15 saves during the match. with the U.S. in 2011|224x224px In the
2015 Gold Cup, the U.S. were eliminated by Jamaica 2–1 in the semifinals, before losing to Panama on penalties in the third place match. It marked the first time the team failed to make the tournament final since 2003. In the 2015
CONCACAF Cup playoff to determine the region's entry to the
2017 Confederations Cup, the U.S. were defeated 3–2 by Mexico at the Rose Bowl. The results led to criticism of Klinsmann's coaching style, particularly the lack of a cohesive identity. In June 2016, the U.S. hosted the
Copa América Centenario, a special edition of the Copa América to commemorate the centenary of the tournament and its first to be played outside of South America. In their third Copa América appearance, The team lost 4–0 to
Argentina in the semifinals and 1–0 to Colombia again in the third place match. The U.S. finished fourth overall, tying their best finish ever in 1995. Following consecutive losses to Mexico and Costa Rica in the opening games of the
final round of qualification for the
2018 World Cup, Klinsmann was removed as national team coach and technical director and replaced by previous U.S. head coach Bruce Arena. World Cup qualification resumed on March 24, 2017, where Arena and his team achieved a record 6–0 win over
Honduras. The U.S. earned their third ever result in World Cup qualification at the
Estadio Azteca when they drew 1–1 against Mexico. In July 2017, the U.S. won their sixth
Gold Cup with a 2–1 win over Jamaica in the final. Following a
2–1 defeat to Trinidad and Tobago on October 10, 2017, the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, missing the tournament for the first time since 1986. Many pundits and analysts called this the worst result and worst performance in the history of the national team. in 2019 Following Arena's resignation on October 13, 2017, assistant coach
Dave Sarachan was named interim head coach during the search for a permanent replacement. The search for a permanent head coach was delayed by the
USSF presidential election in February 2018 and the hiring of
Earnie Stewart as general manager in June 2018.
Gregg Berhalter, coach of the
Columbus Crew and a former USMNT defender, was announced as the team's new head coach on December 2, 2018. Under Berhalter the team lost in the
2019 Gold Cup final 1–0 against
Mexico and were unable to defend their title.
2020s at the
2022 World Cup An influx of new young talent playing for top European clubs, widely described as America's
golden generation, entered the national team in the late 2010s and early 2020s, including
Christian Pulisic,
Weston McKennie,
Tyler Adams,
Timothy Weah,
Sergiño Dest, and
Gio Reyna. This new group won the inaugural
CONCACAF Nations League in 2021 with a 3–2 victory against Mexico in the
final. A different roster won the
Gold Cup against Mexico later that summer, contributing to a record for wins in a calendar year, with 17 wins, three ties, and two losses in 2021. The United States qualified for the
2022 World Cup by finishing third in the
final qualifying round. Grouped with England, Iran, and
Wales in
Group B, the team advanced to the
knockout stage as runners-up with five points and without losing a game. There, they faced the
Netherlands and were defeated 3–1. Midfielder
Kellyn Acosta became the first
Asian American player to appear for the U.S. at a World Cup. After Berhalter's contract expired in December 2022, the U.S. searched for a new head coach. Under interim manager
B.J. Callaghan in June 2023, the United States successfully defended their Nations League trophy by winning the
2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League. The team conceded no goals in the
finals tournament, winning 3–0 against Mexico and 2–0 against Canada in the
final match. Callaghan remained the team's manager for the
2023 Gold Cup the following month, which was played with a different roster. The U.S. were eliminated in the semifinals by Panama after losing a penalty shootout. The United States automatically qualified for the
2026 World Cup as co-host in February 2023, and secured a spot at the U.S.-hosted
2024 Copa América by defeating Trinidad and Tobago 4–2 over two legs in
November 2023. Gregg Berhalter was reappointed as coach of the United States on June 16, 2023. In March 2024, the United States won their
third CONCACAF Nations League title by defeating Mexico 2–0 in the
final. At the Copa América, the United States were eliminated in the
group stage, with a 1–0 loss in the final group stage match against
Uruguay involving several controversial decisions against the Americans from referee
Kevin Ortega, including a potentially offside Uruguay goal and handling of yellow cards. Following the team's elimination, Berhalter was fired as head coach on July 10, 2024. On September 10, 2024,
Todd Boehly and the USMNT's delegates agreed to an undisclosed exit fee for former
Chelsea manager
Mauricio Pochettino, and Pochettino would subsequently be announced as the new head coach of the United States, replacing Berhalter. In March
2025 the U.S. lost to
Panama 0–1 in stoppage time, marking the first time they've been eliminated from a
CONCACAF Nations League title. ==Team image==