US Men's National Soccer Team to Face off Against Japan, South Korea
By Romen Basu Borsellino | 14 May, 2025

The two exhibition matches in September are likely to be a determining factor in which members of Team USA make the 2026 World Cup roster

On Tuesday, the United States Soccer Federation announced that the US Men’s National Team (USMNT)will hold their next two matches against Japan and South Korea this fall. While these games are referred to as “friendlies,” meaning that the outcome will not officially count towards anything, they still have implications for the players themselves and are thus expected to be taken very seriously. 

What makes these games impactful is their role in the lead-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup, which only comes around every four years, is the most viewed event in the world. The Championship match of the most recent World Cup, which took place in Qatar in 2022, drew 5 billion viewers. For context, the 2025 Super Bowl brought in 128 million viewers. 

Following the USMNT’s participation in the Gold Cup in June, these matches will be one  of just four occasions for international play before the World Cup in 2026. That means that this is one of the only opportunities that will help coach Mauricio Pochettino decide which players to include on the official 2026 roster. Not to mention that the US is co-hosting the next World Cup along with Canada and Mexico, which puts even greater pressure on the players to be able to compete in front of a home crowd. Friendlies or not, the US players are certainly expected to bring their A-game to these September matches. 

South Korea will get the first crack at the USMNT on September 6th in Harrison, New Jersey ‘s Sports Illustrated Area. The venue otherwise serves as home to the New York Red Bulls. This will be the seventh lifetime face-off between the two teams and a chance for the US to even the score from their current deficit of 2 wins, 3 loses, and 2 draws against South Korea. While the US has an automatic bid to the next World Cup (the perks of hosting it), South Korea is expected to make their participation official when they compete in a qualifying match this June.

The USMNT will take on Japan on September 9th, just three days after facing off against South Korea. The match will be held in Columbus, Ohio at the unfortunately named Lower.com Field. Since their inaugural meeting in 1993, the two teams have met just two additional times. Japan holds a 2-1 lifetime lead over the US with the US's sole victory coming from a friendly match ahead of the 2006 World Cup. This past March, Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.