US Soccer is ramping up for the 2026 World Cup by scheduling a home-soil friendly against a lower-ranked team that didn’t make knockout in 2018 or 2022, as Germany is reported to be heading stateside following the summer.
German media outlet Sport Bild and ESPN Germany expert Derek Rae are reporting that die Mannschaft will be headed to North America in either the September or October FIFA window for a pair of friendly matches against the USMNT and Mexico.
In the most recent World Cup, the Germans finished third place in Group E, behind Japan and Spain. That was the second straight group-stage exit for the 2014 champions, after they finished last in their group in 2018.
Despite their poor finish in Qatar, the German Football Association has opted to retain head coach Hansi Flick, who took over the team in late-2021 following a 15-year reign by Joachim Löw.
It is unclear from the Sport Bild report whether the trip is planned for the window running from September 4-12 or the subsequent opening from October 9-17.
Germany is hosting the 2024 European Championship and have already been eliminated from the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League, meaning they will not play any competitive matches until the tournament next summer.
The USMNT has faced the Germans on 11 occasions over the last 30 years. Their most recent meeting was a 2-1 victory for the Americans in Cologne in summer 2015, which saw Mikkel Diskerud and Bobby Wood do the honors. This was approximately one year after their previous meeting, where Löw’s squad were 1-0 winners in the Group Stage of the 2014 World Cup.
In the current FIFA rankings taking into account team performances in Qatar, the Americans are ranked 13th, while the Germans are one spot lower in 14th place.
