EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — The U.S. men’s national soccer team is 32 months away from playing in the 2026 World Cup, a timetable that would seem to leave Coach Gregg Berhalter flush with time and opportunity to polish personnel and tactics.
But then you have to consider FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, sets aside only about five windows a year for training camps and international matches. On top of that, most of those openings are filled by regional tournaments, which, for the No. 11-ranked United States, do not afford world-class competition.
So on Saturday afternoon, with four-time champion Germany stateside for the first time in 10 years, the Americans will relish a rare chance to measure themselves against soccer nobility.