The USA's Top-5 Burning World Cup Questions With 100 Days To Go

Ready or not, here it comes. Only 100 days until the World Cup commences, and we're in store for a tournament for the ages.

And there will be plenty of attention on the United States men's national team, who are one of the three tournament co-hosts alongside Canada and Mexico. There's not much time left before the USA play their first match on June 12 against Paraguay in Los Angeles. And there are some big questions still to answer for USA coach Mauricio Pochettino. 

The World Cup will run from June 11–July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament matches will air live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every match streaming live and on-demand within both the FOX One and the FOX Sports apps. A record 40 matches, more than one-third of the tournament, will air in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19).

[WHEN AND WHERE: Full Schedule for 2026 FIFA World Cup ]

Question No. 1 – USA's World Cup Chances: How Far Can This Team Go?

Don’t underestimate the power of playing at home. Back in 2002, World Cup co-hosts South Korea — which had never so much as survived group play at any previous edition — stunned the tournament by reaching the semifinals. But there’s also pressure when hosting the greatest sporting tournament on earth: Who can forget Brazil’s shocking 7-1 elimination by eventual champions Germany in 2014? 

Ahead of the World Cup, most pundits have the USA advancing no farther than the quarterfinals. That would both equal their best finish this century while also making some new history: now that the tournament has been expanded to 48 teams, the Americans must win two