USMNT told what would be a successful 2026 World Cup as Brad Friedel makes 'no shame' Brazil or England claim

Having qualified as co-hosts of FIFA’s flagship event - alongside neighbours Canada and Mexico - the United States have had fewer competitive fixtures to ready them for a shot at global glory. A series of friendlies, Gold Cup games and Nations League ties have, however, allowed Pochettino to experiment and shuffle his pack.

The former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss will be close to settling on a 26-man squad that he believes can be competitive against the very best in the business. He is considered to be working with a ‘Golden Generation’ of talent but can they live up to expectations, or even exceed them?

Asked what success will look like next summer, former USMNT goalkeeper Friedel - speaking in association with ToonieBet - told GOAL: “My expectation is that we get through the group. I think exceeding expectations is past the quarters. It’s really difficult to say what I think will be success or failure, the knockouts etc, until you see the draw and the knockout games. There is no shame in getting knocked out to Brazil or England. It just happens. For me, it’s the manner in which it would happen.

“Mauricio I know very well and he is going to have a team that is well prepared, that is fit, that is going to fight for everyone, and they are going to compete really well. That’s why I think over a three-game period in the group stages, they can get out of the group - that’s what I expect. After that, unfortunately no matter how hard you compete against some of the teams at the World Cup - that’s why so few have won it over the history of the tournament - it’s difficult to win it. We’ll have to wait and see.

“I would say that the team is definitely capable of - with the talent that they have and I know how Mauricio works - getting to the quarter-finals. We’ll see after that because then it becomes really hard.

“Sometimes you are going to need luck or penalties or sendings off, or whatever it is. Look at all the great England teams that have been so close. Talent-wise, playing with them and against them, they have had the talent to win a World Cup. For whatever reason, they haven’t been able to finish it off.”

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The USMNT made it to the last-16 of the 2010, 2014 and 2022 World Cups - having failed to qualify in 2018 - and believe that they can emulate those achievements in their own backyard. They will, however, cross paths with at one least of the favourites at some stage.

Quizzed on whether Lionel Messi and Argentina would be a dream draw or whether it is best to avoid the elite for as long as possible, Friedel added: “You are going to get at least one of the best in your group. Back in ‘94, we were lucky to get out of the group but really unlucky because we had two European countries. We had Switzerland and Romania and Colombia.

“You are going to get somebody really good to play against. The European countries are generally of the higher quality, and the South American countries. I would still say avoid everyone at the top for as long as you can! You can lose against those guys any time, with no shame and playing a really good match, so why not play against people that you know you can beat seven out of 10 times.”

The USMNT will discover their fate - and whether that includes a meeting with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, who has helped to guide Inter Miami to the 2025 MLS Cup final - when the group stage draw is held at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC on December 5.