Jürgen Klinsmann lays out how the USMNT could win the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Former FIFA World Cup winner and U.S. Men's National Team coach Jürgen Klinsmann has detailed what needs to happen for this summer's co-hosts to potentially go all the way
Jürgen Klinsmann won the 1990 FIFA World Cup with West Germany -Credit:Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images A FIFA World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990, and a former head coach of the U. S. Men’s National Team, soccer legend Jürgen Klinsmann believes Mauricio Pochettino’s side has the potential to go all the way this summer.
The U. S. is set to co-host the 2026 tournament along with Mexico and Canada, with the opener set for June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, and the final to be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
Looking to guide the USMNT to its first World Cup knockout game win since 2002 in South Korea/Japan, Pochettino’s side will first have to navigate its way out of Group D, where they will face Türkiye, Paraguay, and Australia. Italian officials slam ‘shameful’ proposal from Trump envoy for Azzuri to replace Iran at World Cup Tottenham Hotspur slapped with fine and warning by UEFA after Champions League game Klinsmann coached the U. S.
Men's National Team between 2011 and 2016 -Credit:Jamie Sabau/Getty Images Should they make it out of the group stage, the knockout phase will kick off with the newly implemented Round of 32, which has been put in place to accommodate the tournament’s expansion to 48 teams. Looking ahead with FOX Sports , Klinsmann, who led the USMNT between 2011 and 2016, explained how winning a World Cup “takes such a high capability of suffering, of going through difficult times, difficult moments to play every three, four days once you go in the knockout phase,” adding that “when you think you go through the Round of 16 or the quarter final you think, ‘Oh, now you we're really there. ’ Then comes even more difficult games with extra time, maybe penalty shootouts, and stuff like that.