USA 2026 World Cup Team Preview, Betting Odds, Predictions & Best Bets

By Phil West | Jun 04, 2026, 1:12pm

While there are officially three nations hosting the 2026 World Cup, the United States is hosting the bulk of the matches, including the final in the Meadowlands — and despite some question marks around the team headed into the tournament, this could be the Yanks’ best showing since making the quarterfinals in 2002. Here’s a look at the hosts and how they might fare in the tournament staged on home soil.

USA 2026 World Cup Betting Odds & Information

To Win World Cup:
To Reach Final:
To Reach Semifinal:
To Reach Quarterfinal:
To Win Group D:
To Advance From Group:
Group: Group D
FIFA Rank: 16

The U.S. is facing fairly long odds to make the final let alone win the tournament, and a lot of that has to do with their uneven performances under imported head coach Mauricio Pochettino, following Gregg Berhalter leading the squad to a Round of 16 exit in the 2022 World Cup and then being tapped to initially resume his role for the 2026 cycle. Pochettino’s the first non-American coach to take the reins since Jürgen Klinsmann left in 2016 after five years in charge.

While the team’s racked up some impressive scorelines, most notably a 5-1 win over Uruguay in November, a Gold Cup final loss last July to Mexico and a pair of February losses (5-2 to Belgium and 2-0 to Portugal) is leaving U.S. fans less optimistic than they were when Pochettino first took over.

However, this is still a talented team, with a golden generation led by Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), and Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille), plus wild cards Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach) and Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake) providing creative sparks. In their last two World Cups, they’ve survived the group stages only to fall to a European power in the Round of 16. Can a home-field advantage propel them past that hurdle?

USA 2026 World Cup Best Bet

It’s hard to know how far the U.S. really will go as hosts, but no matter how far they go, it’s a good bet that Folarin Balogun – positioned as the team’s starting No. 9 and getting the bulk of the minutes there — will put in more goals than any other player. He’s put in 13 goals plus four assists in 28 matches for Monaco this season, among Ligue 1’s leaders.

Best Bet: Top Team Goalscorer, Folarin Balogun (+275)

USA 2026 World Cup Players to Watch

In addition to Balogun, pay attention to these players as potential goalscorers.

Christian Pulisic: Captain America tends to come up big for the U.S. in big matches, including a crucial goal against Iran in the 2022 World Cup to send the Americans through to the knockout rounds. Some oddsmakers have him as the likeliest to score the most for the U.S.

Haji Wright: The last man to score for the U.S. in a World Cup was Wright, getting a late, unconventional consolation goal in a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands. He’s scored 17 goals in the Championship this year, getting Coventry City to the Premier League, and he could see significant minutes.

Ricardo Pepi: Snubbed in 2022 despite being a leading striker contender for stretches of the cycle, Pepi’s in his third season with PSV Eindhoven, scoring 14 goals for his best season there yet, and and was reportedly headed to Fulham before the deal fell through. He’s a longer shot to be the leading goalscorer, but he’s capable of timely hot streaks that could coincide with a U.S. run through the tournament.

USA World Cup History

The U.S. was at the very first World Cup in 1930, finishing third overall for its best performance in a single World Cup — though with 13 teams in the mix back then, the 2002 quarterfinal appearance might be the best overall showing relative to the size of the tournament.

In all, the U.S. has appeared in 11 prior World Cups, having a dismal stretch from 1954 to 1986 without a World Cup appearance, finally breaking through in 1990 before getting in the door in 1994 as a first-time host. Since 1990, they’ve only missed one World Cup — in 2018, due to an everything-went-wrong final day of Concacaf qualifying matches. Since 2010, each U.S. World Cup appearance has ended with advancing in the group stage before bowing out in the Round of 16.

Photo Credit: AP/Jeff Dean

Phil West

Phil West is a writer based in Austin, Texas, whose work has appeared in a wide range of outlets, including MLSSoccer.com, Backheeled, and Howler, as well as major publications such as the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Austin Chronicle, and San Antonio Express-News. He also wrote two books on soccer for The Overlook Press.