USMNT coach Berhalter wants his home state of New Jersey to be in the World Cup final.

USMNT coach Berhalter wants his home state of New Jersey to be in the World Cup final.

Gregg Berhalter, the coach of the United States, is even more excited that the 2026 World Cup final will be held in New Jersey.

He grew up next to MetLife Stadium, which will be the site of the championship match for the expanded 48-nation, 104-contest tournament.

“If there wasn’t motivation now to try to get through to the final, there’s a bit of extra motivation presently to be playing, potentially 15 minutes from the place where I grew up, to a World Cup final,” Berhalter declared in a Monday interview. “It would be a dream come true.”

FIFA chose the stadium that opened in 2010 as the site of the July 19 final. It is home to the NFL’s New York Jets and Giants. It will be the end of the first tournament that took place in three countries. Mexico and Canada will each host 13 games.

Before the World Cup, the U.S. team will train at their national training center in a suburb of Atlanta. On June 12, they will play their first game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The Americans play nine days later at Lumen Field in Seattle and cap the group stage in SoFi on June 25. Both games will take place in the same time zone.

The U.S. has only made it to the quarterfinals once since the 1930 World Cup when they made it to the semifinals. That did happen in 2002 when Berhalter was on the squad that lost to Germany 1-0 in South Korea.

For Berhalter, the benefits of being at home with their core players—led by Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Tyler Adams, who are all still in their mid-20s—are very appealing.

He coached the U.S. to the round of 16 during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but lost to the Netherlands.

Berhalter used Morocco as an example of what the U.S. should be aiming for. Morocco made history by becoming the first African team to ever make it to the semifinals, which was a thrilling run.

“If you consider Morocco before this year’s World Cup, you know, everything can happen, right?” What Berhalter said. “You made it to the semifinals, and now you only need one game to win this thing.”

“Our team’s variety shows what America is all about.” That’s what makes our group great. You want Americans to feel like they belong on our team. They can connect with our group when they witness us play.

They won the Concacaf competition last year and will play Jamaica in the tournament’s semifinals on March 21.

On the other side, Mexico and Panama are going to compete. In the group stage of the Copa América, they will face Bolivia, Panama, and Uruguay.

Defender Sergiño Dest will remain on the team for the Nations League, even though he was suspended for the game against Jamaica because he got a red card in November’s 2-1 loss in Trinidad and Tobago.

FIFA announced the full schedule for the tournament during a national broadcast on FOX and Telemundo on January 4.

USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter was on the show. The tournament will end with the final, which will be played in New York/New Jersey at MetLife Stadium.

It will happen in the US, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. This is the fourth time the tournament has been held.

The USMNT’s first game in the tournament’s group stage will be on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

On June 19, they will play their second game at Lumen Field in Seattle, which is on the west coast. The USMNT will finish the group phase with a match at SoFi Stadium on June 25.

After the announcement, Berhalter talked to national media about the USA’s group schedule, plans for the buildup in 2026, which will include time at the National Training Center in Atlanta, as well as what it means to him as a native of New Jersey that the World Cup Final will be played in his backyard.

We finally know where we will be in the 2026 World Cup group stage, which is great. It makes it interesting and brings it to life.

We would have been happy at any of the venues because we know that the home fans will be amazing during this World Cup.

As someone from New York, New Jersey, having the final there is a dream realized for me and I’m sure for all those from that area. Another place with a long history of soccer when producing players.

When I was little, I used to go see the Cosmos play at Giants Stadium, which was always packed. Now, this stadium has been selected to be the site of the World Cup Final.