The United States Men’s National Team faces a crucial test this summer in the Concacaf Gold Cup. It’s North America’s biennial international tournament that will serve as the USMNT’s last competitive preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The USMNT has a checkered history in the Gold Cup, winning the title seven times (most recently in 2021) but failing to reach the final in 2023 after falling to Panama in the semifinals. (Sound familiar?) 

With the World Cup a little more than a year away (June 11-July 19, 2026), the Gold Cup stands as the biggest and best remaining test of the USMNT’s tournament readiness. If it does well, the USMNT will enter the World Cup on a positive trajectory. If the Americans struggle, they will crash into the tournament in a state of chaos.

USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino recently talked with U. S. Soccer about how he’s preparing for Gold Cup. Here are the four biggest takeaways from the discussion:

He isn’t underestimating his group

The USMNT will face Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti in the group stage of the Gold Cup. Only two of those teams will move on to the knockout stage — and while the USMNT is widely expected to be one of them, Pochettino isn’t taking anything for granted.

“It’s important that we respect all of our opponents in the competition,” he said. “The Gold Cup is historically always a difficult competition.”

That’s a good mindset to have. Trinidad and Tobago eliminated the USMNT from World Cup contention in 2017, Saudi Arabia beat eventual champion Argentina in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup and Haiti is unbeaten in its last 10 fixtures. They’re all capable of delivering upsets and surprises.