USA Soccercast

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The latest application window for 2026 World Cup tickets has closed…so what’s next? We discuss what the process looks like from here on Episode 170. The numbers are in from FIFA, and it’s a big one: they report that over 500 million ticket requests were made during the latest application window. That makes the odds super slim that fans will get all the tickets that they want for the World Cup. So, for those supporters who entered through the Supporter Draw or for fans who applied through FIFA, we discuss what the next steps will be in finding out whether you’re one of the lucky ones who will grab the $60 tickets or the ones that will have a much lighter wallet with the full price tickets. After the break, we discuss the reported 2026 away jersey that was leaked last week by FootyHeadlines. We discuss what it looks like and what it’s trying to accomplish as we dive fully into this pivotal year of soccer. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our new Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with Episode 169 as we go through the details of US Soccer’s ticket lotteries for the 2026 World Cup and we discuss the rumored 2026 World Cup jerseys. First, US Soccer has emailed Insiders members along with members of the three main supporters groups - American Outlaws, Barra 76, and Sammers SC - with details on how to apply for tickets in US Soccer’s allocation for the 2026 World Cup. It’s a lot of information and there have been several questions about how it will work. We do our best to clarify what the process will be, how you can apply for tickets, and whether you should apply through US Soccer or FIFA (or both!) to try and claim USMNT tickets. After the break, we get into the talk around the rumored 2026 home jerseys for the USMNT and USWNT. They’re the closest US Soccer has come to recreating the Waldos from 2012, and this guy loves them. We have a couple more details on the jersey and we have some fun as we like to hope these jerseys come to life on the field this year. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our new Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy New Year! We’re in 2026, and it’s an important year for soccer in the United States. We dive a bit further into some of the predictions we have for our USMNT and USWNT for the year, splitting the episode among the two teams. First, it’s the USMNT, and with the World Cup taking center stage this summer, the bulk of the predictions are centered around that tournament. From a Golden Boot winner to predicting how far the team will go, we break down the predictions quickly for the team. We also discuss the USWNT, who have World Cup qualifying coming this fall when they play in the Concacaf W Championship. Their year builds up to that tournament, and they hope to have a year full of quality moments, player development, and some big results on the field. Finally, the show hopes to build to new heights in 2026, and it will be a busy year! If you have topic suggestions or you have questions for the pod, hit up the social media feeds to let us know! Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our new Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The most coveted ticket lottery will take place next month: the US Soccer ticket draw for World Cup tickets. We learn about how the process will go on Episode 167. The US Soccer Insiders Ticket Draw will commence in January, and we have the information on how it will work. We go through how the lottery application will go and some frequently asked questions, some of which may not have clear answers. We also go through the difference between the US Soccer draw and the FIFA lottery which is currently in an application window. There will be two separate draws: the Standard Insider draw for free Insiders members. 10% of the US Soccer allocation will be earmarked for that draw. The Premium-Keeper Insider Draw will see 90% of tickets earmarked for paid members, outside of Coaches Circle members who are guaranteed World Cup ticket access. Members can also get additional lottery entries based on longevity of membership. We detail all the process and discuss the questions in a way that hopefully provides some clarity. After the break, we have been working on new merch and finally we have it! We recently announced the 2026 USA Soccercast line of jerseys, lightweight hoodies, and other team gear through our friends at Stimulus Athletic! We’ve done some designs to get us ready for a pivotal 2026, and they’re at affordable prices with options for the whole family. You can head to our Stimulus storefront to see all of our offerings as well as place an order! Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2026 World Cup Draw took place last Friday, and the United States Men’s National Team finally learned who they would face in the group stage next summer. We discuss it on Episode 166. Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of UEFA Playoff C (Türkiye, Slovakia, Romania, or Kosovo) will be the USMNT’s opponents in Group D next summer. We take a look at the rest of the groups and how they were drawn out, and we of course touch a little bit on the circus that was the World Cup Draw. It took 85 minutes for the world to see the first non-host team drawn, but on this episode we reveal the groups much quicker than that! After the break, we touch on some comments from Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, and head coach Mauricio Pochettino about the USMNT’s draw, how drawing teams they’ve seen recently in Paraguay and Australia affects preparation, and if they are focused solely on the group stage or allowed themselves to think beyond that on potential pathways. It’s great to get their take on the draw and the work they have to make the roster when it’s announced in May. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States Women’s National Team has completed their 2025 after finishing their final window with two shutout wins over Italy. We recap the window and the year for the USWNT on Episode 165. We first go through the most recent window and some of the best performances. Catarina Macario, Olivia Moultrie, Claire Hutton, Sam Coffey, Rose Lavelle, and Lily Yohannes all get kudos for their play. Italy was a strong team, but the USWNT were in control from Moultrie’s goal 75 seconds into the first match all the way till the very end of the second match. We also look back at 2025 for the USWNT. They were 12W-3L-0D on the year, but the biggest victory they had was the elevation of the depth of the player pool. We’ll discuss how Emma Hayes created that depth by not just bringing along new players, but giving them more opportunities to play at all levels of the national team system to get them comfortable with the system. The result is a large player pool of talent that is ready to step in when their name is called to play at a high level. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The World Cup Draw is a few days away, and we react to the pots and procedures on Episode 164! The World Cup Draw procedures and pots were released earlier in the week, and the USMNT knows which teams it could draw for each match in the group stage. We take a look at the draw, who is in each pot, and which teams the USMNT could draw for each match of the group stage. As a reminder, the pots for the World Cup Draw, which takes place on December 5th: Pot 1 - United States (14), Mexico (15), Canada (27), Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), England (4), Brazil (5), Portugal (6), Netherlands (7), Belgium (8), Germany (9) Pot 2 - Croatia (10), Morocco (11), Colombia (13), Uruguay (16), Switzerland (17), Japan (18), Senegal (19), Iran (20), South Korea (22), Ecuador (23), Austria (24), Australia (26) Pot 3 - Norway (29), Panama (30), Egypt (34), Algeria (35), Scotland (36), Paraguay (39), Tunisia (40), Ivory Coast (42), Uzbekistan (50), Qatar (51), Saudi Arabia (60), South Africa (61) Pot 4 - Jordan (66), Cape Verde (68), Ghana (72), Curaçao (82), Haiti (84), New Zealand (86), UEFA Playoff A winner, UEFA Playoff B winner, UEFA Playoff C winner, UEFA Playoff D winner, Inter-confederation Playoff Path 1 winner, Inter-confederation Playoff Path 2 winner We look at how the draw will work and the new pathways that have been created for the top teams. After the break, we ask the questions: what is the ideal group for the USMNT? Conversely, what is the group to avoid? There are some teams that could be favorable for the USMNT to face, particularly when they would face them. There are also some doomsday options that would pose some real concerns for the team and make the group stage a real effort. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We recap a fun November international window for the United States Men’s National Team live from Tampa on Episode 163! It’s a morning after the match edition of the podcast, where we recap what was a very successful window for the USMNT: a 2-1 victory over Paraguay and a 5-1 thrashing of Uruguay. We go through what some of the successes were, notably the players that excelled, and discuss how the intensity has increased and the fight has elevated for this team and maybe that’s why they’re doing so well. We go through the goal scorers and briefly rate the performances of players by positions. As we move closer to the 2026 World Cup, we’ve learned a lot about these players and we discuss some of that briefly. We also discuss the news that Major League Soccer is moving to a fall-spring schedule, and some of the positives and negative that will come with the change. There’s also a format shift in how the table will work as well as who teams will play during each season - a single table with divisions. We touch on that as we fly high with happiness from the international window. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are back with Episode 162 to take you into the Halloween weekend! The USMNT are back in action in a couple of weeks, and the competition is starting to pick up. We discuss some of the priorities for the national team as they get ready for matches against Paraguay and Uruguay. From improvements to the midfield play to leveling up against tougher competition, the USMNT still has their work cut out for them in November. We also dive into the news that January Camp will be replaced starting in December 2026 with December Camp. The move could help MLS players get those opportunities at times where they are more in peak fitness and outside of preseason windows where their clubs could balk at their absence. However, it would put a strain on fans who enjoy traveling to the annual camp to watch guys fight to become the next line of players who work their way into the mix with the USMNT. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finally, the World Cup ball is out, and its name is Trionda! We talk about it for a couple minutes…the design is pretty nice and it hopefully will look great when it’s on the field of play. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with Episode 160 of the USA Soccercast! There are a ton of questions surrounding the United States Men’s National Team and the upcoming 2026 World Cup, so we took to social media to gather questions and provide the answers you desire. A lot of questions centered around the USMNT, from the roster to certain players and their chances of making the World Cup roster. There’s also the questions on head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s evaluation of the player pool and narrowing down the choices for his roster. We even discuss whether the USMNT have adequate competition lined up to properly prepare them to host the world next summer. We also get into aspects of the World Cup, from the recent announcement of the mascots to which venues we’re looking forward to seeing to the questions about how morally we can support the USMNT in these “interesting” times. No question gets ducked on this episode, and we welcome more on Bluesky or Twitter as we get ready for the October international window. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky, Twitter, and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This will be a fun one to take you into the weekend! On Episode 159, we take the suggestion of a listener and we take it to the nostalgia by ranking the 10 best, most important wins in United States Men’s National Team history. There are so many big wins to consider throughout the course of time, from the obvious to the cult classics. From Columbus and Jeonju to Natal and Belo Horizonte, we go through the list and recall some of the biggest moments ever for the USMNT. So sit back, relax, and fire up the time machine for the trip down memory lane! Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2026 World Cup ticketing sales are set to begin next month, and it’s about time to start addressing some frequently asked questions. On Episode 158, we do just that. First, we discuss the World Cup Draw which is reportedly set to take place on December 5th in Las Vegas. The draw always is a night for glitz and glamor, and Vegas could be the best backdrop for that particular night. After quickly discussing the draw, we get into the first ticket phase for the 2026 World Cup, and it’s one for all Visa cardholders. The application window runs September 10-19 and will provide the first major lottery for fans around the world to get tickets to the biggest sporting event on the planet. After the break, we get to the questions. There have been several general questions about how the process will go for fans to get tickets to World Cup matches, whether they are for the USMNT or matches involving other teams. How much will tickets likely cost? Can I just find tickets on StubHub or another third party reseller? What will it be like to travel between the United States, Mexico, and Canada for matches? We don’t have all the answers, but we get into a lot of information that we do know on this episode. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than 11 months away, and the United States Men’s National Team is in the final phase of preparations to co-host the world. In the aftermath of finishing runner-up to Mexico at the Gold Cup, there have been a lot of debates about what the team - from the players to head coach Mauricio Pochettino - needs to do in order to be operating at max capacity when they open the World Cup next June in LA. Enter Landon Donovan. He’s been outspoken in both his criticism of the USMNT and what it needs to do to improve as well as supportive of some of the strides the team took during the Gold Cup. The USMNT legend spoke with the USA Soccercast on Episode 157 about his work he’s doing with Real Madrid and Abbott to increase access and opportunity to kids across the country looking to improve their game. He also took the time to evaluate what the USMNT needs to prioritize ahead of next summer and what they need to do to make a deep run in the 2026 World Cup. He then closes out with his wish list for what the lasting legacy from the World Cup would be. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States Women’s National Team had a great international window, and the USMNT Gold Cup roster is out. We take some time to discuss it on Episode 156. The USWNT defeated China 3-0 and Jamaica 4-0 during their most recent window, and it feels like Emma Hayes is closer to identifying the players who could form the core of her plans as we progress through this Women’s World Cup cycle. We discuss some of the players who performed very well during the camp, including Phallon Tullis-Joyce’s case to be the #1 goalkeeper. We also get into some of the players that maybe had a camp to forget as well as what the team needs to lean on as they move forward: a fast, creative midfield. After the break, we discuss the USMNT Gold Cup roster that was announced on Thursday. We take a look at who made the roster as well as the main notable omission of Sergiño Dest, who was deemed not quite 100% to play in the tournament by the USMNT coaching staff. We discuss what that means for a team that will enter the tournament with just a few guys with Gold Cup experience. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States Men’s National Team is headed to camp next week and among the newcomers is 1.FC Köln striker Damion Downs. We’re joined by Jake Payne of 50 Plus Döner as we do a deep dive on the young German-American and what he brings to the table. Jake does content that focuses on Köln and German soccer as a whole, and he gives us some incredible insight on Downs and what he’s done well at the club level. He also discusses what Downs will have to improve as he prepares for his time with the USMNT and helping Köln as they return to the Bundesliga next season. It’s a great interview that also expands to why German soccer is normally so beneficial for American players to develop and how the wave can shift back to players thriving in the Bundesliga. After the break, the USWNT take the field this weekend in two friendlies where we will see the team continue to develop some of the young talent. We look at the roster and some notes about who we are excited about seeing against China and Jamaica. We close out with discussion on the news of an expanded 2031 Women’s World Cup and a potential trans-Pacific men’s World Cup in 2038. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States Men’s National Team prepares to play in the Concacaf Gold Cup, but Christian Pulisic’s absence has everyone talking. We discuss his decision to opt out of this summer’s matches on Episode 154. Christian Pulisic has decided that after a long season for AC Milan, he wants to sit the summer out. That decision has taken American soccer by storm and it has prompted a lot of critical feedback. We offer our own thoughts on his decision and what it means for him and the USMNT. With other absences, this means the A roster that fans were promised for the Gold Cup is left with some newcomers who have a huge opportunity ahead of them. We also get into the new 2025 US Soccer jerseys that were released a couple of weeks ago. While we’re still Team Waldos as the permanent home identity, we’re excited about these really cool looking jerseys for this summer. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The women’s soccer pyramid could be expanding in 2026, and we discuss it on Episode 153! The NWSL has submitted a bid to create a second division league called NWSL Division 2 that would serve as a reserve league beginning in 2026. It would begin with 8 teams, with every NWSL team eventually having a reserve team in the league. There is also WPSL Pro, who also announced their intention to launch in 2026 with 15 teams. We quickly go through the new proposed leagues. We then get into the evolving women’s soccer pyramid in the United States and some of the things that these leagues will need to overcome. We also discuss soccer markets that are increasingly crowded as leagues rush to ride the coat tails of the 2026 World Cup. The eye should be on sustainability, and the legacy of 2026 doesn’t have to mean that a league rushes to launch in 2026. As more information comes out about these leagues, we can continue to debate the pros and cons, but it’s a discussion worth having to make sure that women’s soccer remains successful and is not set up in a hurried manner that increases the potential for failure. Don’t forget to follow us on Bluesky and YouTube! Rates, reviews, and subscriptions really help our reach wherever you get your podcasts as well as on YouTube. Head to our Linktree, which will give you access to all our affiliate links and our Stimulus store! And finally, tag us on Twitter or email USA Soccercast at Gmail dot com with any topic suggestions or questions for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices