USMNT Announces 2026 World Cup Training Base in Southern California

The U.S. men's national team will establish its 2026 World Cup training base at the Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine, California, U.S. Soccer announced on Tuesday. This decision came after initial plans to train at the University of California, Irvine fell through when the university was unable to reach an agreement with FIFA.

The Great Park Sports Complex was one of the training site options FIFA provided to teams in its official brochure. The venue, part of a larger public park, features 24 soccer fields and a roughly 5,000-capacity soccer stadium that serves as the home ground for USL Championship side Orange County SC.

Strategic Location Selection

The choice of Southern California as the USMNT's base makes logistical sense, as the team will play two of its three group stage games in the Los Angeles area at SoFi Stadium, located approximately 45 miles northwest of the Irvine training site. Manager Mauricio Pochettino's practice sessions during the tournament will not be open to the public, maintaining team privacy and focus.

This approach aligns with common World Cup strategies, where teams often choose locations outside major metropolitan areas. For the 2026 tournament, Germany will base itself in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, training at Wake Forest University, while Spain will train in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Argentina has selected Sporting Kansas City's facilities and will fly to all its group games.

Historical Camping Approaches

The USMNT has varied its World Cup base camp strategies over the years. During the 2002 and 2006 tournaments in South Korea and Germany respectively, the team opted for more city-central setups. However, in 2010 in South Africa, then-coach Bob Bradley chose the more remote Irene Country Lodge, which he believed provided better privacy and team bonding opportunities.

"We wanted a training facility that gave us the ability to work comfortably and concentrate on building our team and handling everything that goes into World Cup success," Bradley explained before that tournament.

In 2014, under Jurgen Klinsmann, the U.S. based itself in Sao Paulo, Brazil, requiring extensive travel to group games in Natal, Manaus, and Recife. For the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Gregg Berhalter's squad stayed at the Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel on the manmade Pearl Island in Doha.

Tournament Schedule and Travel Plans

The USMNT will be based at a hotel in Orange County and will commute to Los Angeles and Seattle for games. The team opens the tournament on June 12 against Paraguay, followed by a June 19 match against Australia in Seattle, before concluding the group stage on June 25 against either Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, or Kosovo, with the final opponent to be determined through UEFA qualifying playoffs later this month.

Should the U.S. win its group, it would remain on the West Coast for a round of 32 match in Santa Clara, California. A second-place finish would send the team to Arlington, Texas. The more complicated scenario of advancing as one of the top eight third-place finishers could see the USMNT travel to Foxboro, Massachusetts; East Rutherford, New Jersey; or Kansas City, Missouri for its first knockout game.