Gregg Berhalter hopes more of the U.S. will get to see the USMNT before the World Cup

BETHESDA, Md. ― Most of the time, the U.S. men’s soccer team has to plan its big games before a World Cup based on where it can have the best home-field advantage in crucial qualifying matches.

This time, the Americans don’t have to qualify for the 2026 tournament they’ll be cohosting, so they have more latitude. Manager Gregg Berhalter would also like the country to get to know its team better, for the sake of it.

So there were a few layers to the U.S. men’s program’s announcement Tuesday that it will host Colombia on June 8 at the Washington Commanders’ FedEx Field in Landover, Md.

Not only will it be a high-profile tune-up for the high-profile Copa América, but it will be the U.S. men’s team’s first game in the D.C. area in five years.

Why does that matter in Philadelphia, beyond being a close-range summer trip for local fans? Because the nation’s original and current capitals are on that same list of places the U.S. men haven’t visited in a while.

It’s been five years since the team came to town, last visiting for a 2019 Gold Cup game. The same goes for Chicago, for decades the home of U.S. Soccer headquarters — but no U.S. men’s game since the 2019 final.

The Bay Area hasn’t hosted the team since 2017. Seattle has waited eight years, Atlanta nine, and soccer-mad Portland, Ore., 12. New York and Boston waited five and eight years, respectively, to settle for last October’s game in East Hartford, Conn.

There’s no better time to end those waits than now, in the run-up to a World Cup when so many people hope American soccer will finally become mainstream.

» READ MORE: Philly’s 2026 World Cup games are the city’s ‘moment on the global stage,’ local official says

“We’re excited for the world, for the U.S., to get to know our team on a deeper level,” Berhalter said. “And this game will be the starting point to a fantastic summer.”

Unfortunately, it’s no certainty that he’ll be able to take his team to all corners of the country over the next two years. Since so many players are based in Europe, the U.S. program understandably accounts for travel times and distances from abroad when picking game sites.

“Does it make sense to play a home game in Portland in the September [FIFA window?] Probably not,” Berhalter said. “Would we want to play there? Probably. But logistics make it complicated. So we have to balance all that.”

The manager has one of many votes in the matter, but it’s a significant vote. He’s happy to cast it for a wider tour.

“The objective would be to do that,” he said, later adding, “Letting people see who we are and letting people see who the players are, giving people access, and really giving them something that they can be proud of.”

Another way to improve fans’ access is by playing in bigger stadiums. That isn’t always easy either, because many NFL stadiums have artificial turf — and obviously, they’re all booked from August through January.

But Berhalter wants to get into those venues when he can, and that’s news. The U.S. program has long preferred smaller venues owned by MLS teams, to ensure pro-U.S. crowds and so TV cameras don’t show empty upper decks.

» READ MORE: USMNT draws Bolivia, Panama, and powerhouse Uruguay at Copa América

The U.S. men’s team is big enough now that it can dream bigger. The players are popular, and the fan base has grown. The soccer public wants to see Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, and the many other Americans at European clubs play for their country on home soil.

Right now is a moment to seize, and Berhalter knows it.

“Ideally, we’re playing a high-profile opponent in [a] big stadium, because that’s what the World Cup is going to be,” he said. “That’s our ideal, that’s our number one filter. How do we play the best possible opponent in the biggest possible stadium?”

The players know it, too.

“The players would want nothing more than to play in big stadiums, sold out,” Berhalter said. “So if we can do that, we’d do that every day. To be fair, there’s a lot of collaboration within the [U.S. Soccer] Federation to make sure we get these venues right.”

Unfortunately, such a day won’t come to Philadelphia this summer. Lincoln Financial Field is booked with concerts in June, and the Copa América is going elsewhere. But Berhalter knows what a big game at Lincoln Financial Field would feel like, and that his players from Philly badly want a homecoming.

The World Cup will undoubtedly deliver that electricity, no matter where the U.S. plays. The Copa América should, too. As for the rest of the buildup to 2026, it’s possible to do if the pieces come together right. And it’s good news that Berhalter wants it to happen.