Can the United States men’s national team get past the first two knockout rounds in 2026? Well, the USMNT has not made it past the Round of 16 in each of its past three World Cup appearances.
A simple quarterfinal appearance would match the team’s best-ever performance in modern World Cup history.
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But the World Cup has been anything but simple for the U.S. men over the past 96 years. Here’s a look at how the USMNT has done in each of its World Cup appearances ahead of its 2026 World Cup opener.
1930
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Finished in third place
The United States was one of the 13 original World Cup teams and the inaugural event remains the USMNT’s best performance in World Cup history. Granted, that first tournament contained 35 fewer teams than the 2026 edition does, but the U.S. ended up finishing third to host country Uruguay and second-place Argentina.
The U.S. won a three-team group that included Paraguay and Belgium to advance to the knockout rounds. However, the U.S. lost to Argentina in the semifinals. There’s some dispute about whether or not a third-place game took place between the U.S. and Yugoslavia, however, the U.S. officially is recognized as the third-place finisher.
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1934
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Eliminated in first round
The United States’ next World Cup appearance was incredibly short-lived. With 16 teams in the second World Cup, the tournament format ditched group play in favor of a single-elimination tournament. The U.S. drew host country Italy in the first round and lost 7-1.
1950
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Eliminated in group stage
After withdrawing from the 1938 World Cup, the U.S. didn’t make another World Cup appearance for 16 years following the cancellations of the 1942 and 1946 World Cups because of World War II.
The United States and Mexico represented North and Central America in the tournament, but the USMNT finished last in its group on goal differential with one win and two losses.
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1990
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Eliminated in group stage
U.S. soccer was in the wilderness for four decades. The USMNT failed to qualify for nine straight World Cups even as the tournament expanded from 16 teams to 24 in 1982. In 1958, the U.S. failed to win any of its qualifiers and gave up 21 goals.
The United States finally got back to the World Cup in 1990 after five wins and four draws in 10 qualifying games. But it wasn’t able to get out of the group stage. The U.S. was drawn into Group A with host country Italy and lost its opener 5-1 to Czechoslovakia. A 1-0 loss to the hosts made it nearly impossible for the U.S. to move on, and the USMNT ended the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Austria.
1994
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Eliminated in Round of 16
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The United States hosted the World Cup for the first time in 1994 as millions of Americans got their first major exposure to international soccer. The U.S. drew in its opener with Switzerland at 1-1 and then took down Colombia 2-1 in its second game.
Group play ended with loss to Romania, but since 16 of the tournament’s 24 teams advanced to the knockout rounds, the U.S. made it through as one of the top third-place teams.
But getting to the Round of 16 as a third-place team meant a game against eventual World Cup champions Brazil, as a 72nd-minute goal by Bebeto knocked the Americans out of the tournament.
Brazil’s Romario surges past Alexi Lalas during the quarterfinals of the 1994 World Cup. Brazil won the game 1-0.
(Chris Cole via Getty Images)
1998
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Eliminated in group stage
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There was no buoyancy from hosting the previous World Cup. This one was a disaster. The United States went 0-3 in its group against Germany, the former republic of Yugoslavia and Iran. The USMNT’s only goal came in a 2-1 loss to Iran and the Americans were one of just two teams to not at least tie one match in the tournament. Officially, the U.S. came in last behind Japan on goal differential.
2002
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Eliminated in quarterfinals
The mess of 1998 was followed by what stands as the United States’ best-ever modern World Cup performance. Placed in a group with co-host South Korea, Portugal and Poland, the U.S. opened the World Cup with a 3-2 win over heavily favored Portugal. A draw with South Korea in the second match was enough for the U.S. to get through to the knockout rounds despite a 3-1 loss to Poland thanks to South Korea’s 1-0 win over Portugal.
The U.S. was matched up with Group G winner Mexico in the Round of 16 after the Mexicans didn’t lose a match in the group stage. But an early goal from Brian McBride gave the U.S. an advantage and Landon Donovan‘s second-half goal sealed the win.
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However, the run ended in the quarterfinals when the United States lost 1-0 to Germany in controversial fashion. There was no video replay review in 2002, and the U.S. wasn’t given a handball when Torsten Frings’ left arm kept Gregg Berhalter’s game-tying goal from crossing the line.
2006
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Eliminated in group stage
There would be no grand follow-up to the 2002 performance. Grouped with Italy, Ghana and the Czech Republic, the USMNT’s World Cup campaign got off to a terrible start with a 3-0 loss to the Czechs. A 1-1 draw with Italy briefly offered a glimmer of hope, but the U.S. lost 2-1 to Ghana to finish last in Group E.
Landon Donovan scores the winning goal in the 91st minute as the U.S. defeats Algeria at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
(Icon Sports Wire via Getty Images)
2010
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Eliminated in Round of 16
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The 2010 World Cup will forever be remembered for Landon Donovan’s late goal against Algeria. After draws against England and Slovenia, the U.S. needed to beat Algeria to advance to the knockout rounds with England leading Slovenia 1-0. Donovan’s goal — which seemingly came out of nowhere — gave the U.S. a 1-0 win.
But the USMNT would meet a familiar foe in the Round of 16. After Donovan’s second-half penalty kick tied the game at 1-1 and sent it to extra time, Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan scored three minutes into the first extra time period to give the Black Stars a 2-1 win.
2014
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Eliminated in Round of 16
The U.S. made the knockout rounds in back-to-back World Cup appearances for the first time ever in 2014 despite being in the tournament’s Group of Death. The U.S. opened the tournament against — who else? — Ghana and got a 2-1 win thanks to a late set piece goal by John Brooks.
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A 2-2 draw with Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo put the USMNT on four points heading into its final game against Germany. But since Portugal opened its World Cup campaign with an embarrassing 4-0 loss to the Germans, the U.S. got into the Round of 16 on goal difference despite a 1-0 loss in its last group game.
But just like 2010, the U.S. was out of the knockout rounds after one game that went to extra time. After a scoreless first 90 minutes, Belgium scored two goals in the first period of extra time before Julian Green‘s goal cut the final score to 2-1.
2022
Eliminated in Round of 16
The U.S. couldn’t make it three knockout round appearances in three consecutive World Cups in 2018 thanks to an embarrassing qualifying performance. The USMNT lost five of its 16 qualifying games to miss out on the Russian World Cup entirely.
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Four years ago, the U.S. was again in the same group as England and also drew Iran and Wales. A 1-1 draw with Wales opened the tournament and was followed by a 0-0 draw with an England team that had pummeled Iran 6-2 to open the tournament.
The United States’ victory over Iran was not nearly as decisive. Christian Pulisic‘s 38th-minute goal gave the U.S. a 1-0 win.
However, Pulisic was injured when he collided with Iran’s goalkeeper on the play and had to be subbed off at halftime. He was able to start the Round of 16 game against the Netherlands, but the U.S. gave up two first-half goals in a lopsided 3-1 defeat.
