In their last big tune-ups before hosting the 2026 World Cup in the United States next summer, the USMNT put on two impressive performances, winning 2-1 against Australia in October and dominating 5-1 over 16th-ranked Uruguay in November. It’s a welcome confidence boost as they look forward to the World Cup group stage, where they will face two of their recent opponents.

Their unbeaten record now stands at five matches. However, in a brutally honest assessment of the team’s 2026 hopes, as reported by USMNT Only on X, USMNT’s star midfielder Tyler Adams emphasized that the recent results provide no guarantee of future success. “All in all, friendlies don’t mean anything,” Adams stated bluntly.

He elaborated, noting the difference in intensity between a friendly match and the World Cup: “There’s no security in a win from a friendly game. You beat Paraguay or Australia in a friendly, that doesn’t mean you’re going to beat them in a World Cup. A World Cup, everybody’s giving their all completely.”

Adams stressed that the true value of these friendlies lies not in the final score, but in the self assessment it allows for. “I think you look in the mirror at your own performances in friendlies rather than how the opposition approaches the game and plays,” he explained. In a friendly, he said, “You don’t know what version you’re going to get of an opponent and what mentality they’re really bringing.”

Instead, the focus must be on controllable factors: “you know from your own effort and what you put into the game as a team whether you were at your best.”

This more realistic outlook is shaped by the lessons learned as a squad after their 3-1 loss to the then-eighth-ranked Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. On the other hand, the USMNT is in a very favorable position, as the World Cup draw is almost complete.

USMNT’s path to World Cup glory looks clear

Based on their recent victories, the USMNT appears to have an advantageous path through Group D, which consists of Paraguay, Australia, and a European playoff winner.

Star winger Christian Pulisic has acknowledged it, saying, “We can go into it with a good feeling. We’ve played against these teams recently, which is not always the case. We know more or less what they’re going to look like. We know they’re tough opponents as well. We’re not taking anyone lightly. They’re all going to be tough games, but it’s great we have that experience.”

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Though the group stage appears to be simple, veteran center defender Tim Ream remains humble by stating, “It does set up nicely, but we have to focus on ourselves. We know the minimum of what it will take to beat these teams. You can’t play a tournament by doing the minimum. You can’t. You have to go above and beyond.” His ideas are very similar to Tyler Adams’.

However, Adams is not diminishing the team’s potential by bringing a more realistic and demanding perspective to balance the enthusiasm from the dominant friendlies. Rather, he is outlining the precise frame of mind that will be necessary to turn that promise into a historic accomplishment next summer.