We’re just hours away from learning the group stage opponents for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the World Cup Draw is set for Friday, Dec. 5. As the holiday season approaches, end of year awards get handed out and the entire soccer world turns its eyes in gleeful anticipation toward a World Cup year, we’re taking a moment to look back on 2025 for the USMNT under head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Turning The Tide

Pochettino and his staff spent little time with the player pool going into 2025. His team went into this summer’s Gold Cup with a 2W-4L-0D record, including losses to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League Final Four.

When the Gold Cup kicked off June 15 in San Jose, California, the team began to write a new script. Reaching the final of the tournament, the U.S. compiled an 8W-2L-2D record in its final 12 matches of the year.

The group ended its 2025 campaign with a signature win for the program under Pochettino, a 5-1 rout over two-time World Cup winner and 14th-ranked Uruguay. The capstone victory at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida establishedseveral milestones for the USMNT:

• The largest margin of victory for the U.S. against a South American opponent. The record was set with a 4-0 win against Brazil on May 28, 2016.
• It also tied the USMNT’s record for largest margin of victory against an opponent ranked in the top15 of the FIFA WorldRanking. The only other time it occurred was against No. 7 Mexico on June 18, 1995, which the U.S. won 4-0.

Streak Enders

The win against Uruguay marked the first time since 2013 the USMNT has gone unbeaten against FIFA top-40 opponents in five straight matches. All five teams were also already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

For three of those opponents, the USMNT shut down unbeaten streaks.

• The 2-0 win against 17th-ranked Japan on Sept. 9 ended their 13-match unbeaten run dating back to February 2024. It also ended a seven-game winless streak against top-25 opponents for the USMNT. Goals from Alex Zendejas and Folarin Balogun led the U.S. to a strong victory in the historic soccer city of Columbus, Ohio. READ MORE
• The 2-1 win on Oct. 15 at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park against Australia extinguished the Socceroos’ 12-match unbeaten run dating back to March 21, 2024. Australia had won its last seven straight matches heading into Colorado. Haji Wright and Cristian Roldan linked up twice to lead the Americans to a comeback win. READ MORE
• No. 14 Uruguay carried a six-match unbeaten streak into their face-off with the USMNT on Nov. 18. It was an incredibly exciting evening with four first-half goals that saw Alex Freeman, Sebastian Berhalter and Tanner Tessmann officially open their international scoring accounts. READ MORE

READ MORE: Five Matches, Five Results as Belief Grows for U.S. Men’s National Team

Stars Rising

• In 2025, a total of 56 players earned at least one cap for the U.S. Men’s National Team. Players like Max Arfsten and Matt Freese made their senior team debuts in 2025, went on to become mainstays for Pochettino and are now finalists for the U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year award. Sergiño Dest returned to USMNT camp and earned his first cap since missing extended time due to a ruptured ACL.

For several players, 2025 brought significant minutes and notable goals:

• Seventeen different goal scorers tallied a total of 33 goals for the USMNT: Brenden Aaronson, Patrick Agyemang, Max Arfsten, Folarin Balogun, Sebastian Berhalter, Caden Clark, Alex Freeman, Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, MatkoMiljevic, Gio Reyna, Chris Richards, Tanner Tessmann, Malik Tillman, Brian White, Haji Wright and Alex Zendejas
• For 11 of those players, it was their first international goal: Agyemang, Arfsten, Berhalter, Clark, Freeman, Luna, McGlynn, Miljevic, Tessmann, M. Tillman, and White.
• A total of six goals were scored from set pieces, five during the first action, including Richards’ phenomenal header off service from Berhalter in the fourth minute of the Gold Cup Final against Mexico on July 6.
• Freese made his debut in the June 7 match against Türkiye. His 13 appearances ties Matt Turner in 2021 for the record for most caps by a USMNT goalkeeper in their debut year. Freese started all matches in the USMNT’s Gold Cup run and allowed just one goal in the group stage.