The USA men's football team was one of the 13 teams in the inaugural World Cup in 1930. The USA has appeared at the World Cup in 1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022.

After seven consecutive World Cup appearances, in 2018 the USA team surprisingly missed out on qualifying for the finals, though they qualified again for the 2022 tournament in Qatar. The 2022 World Cup was the USA's 11th participation at the World Cup.

The USA's best performances have been reaching the Semi-final in 1930 (finishing 3rd) and the Quarter-final in 2002.

For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the USA automatically qualified due to being co-hosts.

1930

  • The USA finished first in Group 4 with 4 points, ahead of Paraguay and Belgium.
  • The USA lost 1-6 to Argentina in the Semi-finals of the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay.

1934

  • The USA lost 1-7 to Italy in the First round of the 1934 World Cup.

1950

  • The USA did not make it out of Group 2 at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. The Yanks lost two matches and won one match against England.

1990

  • The USA had a poor outing at the 1990 World Cup, held in Italy. It finished fourth in Group A without any point.

1994

  • The USA made it out of Group A at the 1994 World Cup. The Yanks won one match, drew one match, and lost the final group match against Romania.
  • The USA team lost 0-1 to Brazil in the Round of 16 match.

1998

  • The USA did not make it out of Group F at the 1998 World Cup.

2002

  • The USA finished second in Group D at the 2002 World Cup with 4 points, ahead of Portugal and Poland.
  • The USA won Mexico 2-0 in the Round of 16 match to proceed to the Quarter-finals of the competition.
  • The Yanks lost 0-1 to Germany in the Quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup.

2006

  • The USA did not make it out of Group E at the 2006 World Cup.

2010

  • The USA finished top of Group C with 5 points at the 2010 World Cup. They won against Algeria and drew two of their group matches.
  • The Yanks lost 0-1 to the Black Stars of Ghana in the Round of 16.

2014

  • The USA finished second with 4 points in Group G, ahead of Portugal and Ghana. The Yanks won their first match, drew their second match, and lost their final group match against Germany.
  • The USA lost 1-2 to Belgium in the Round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup.

2018

  • The USA did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

2022

  • The USA made it out of Group B at the 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar.
  • The Yanks lost 1-3 to the Netherlands in the Round of 16.
  • Argentina won the 2022 World Cup after defeating France 4-2 on penalties.

2026

  • The USA have automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup because they are among the host countries of the competition.

Trivia

  • The USA reached the Semi-finals of the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, although only 13 teams took part. Argentina ended American hopes with a 6-1 win.
  • The First player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match was the United States's Bert Patenaude, who did this against Paraguay in the first round of the 1930 World Cup.
  • In 1948, the USA suffered their worst defeat, when they lost 11-0 to Norway in Oslo. Their best result came in 1993 when they beat the Cayman Islands 8-1, watched by fewer than 4,000 fans.
  • The USA trainer had to be carried off unconscious during the 1930 Semi-Final against Argentina after he ran to the pitch to attend an injured player, dropped his medicine box, and broke a bottle of chloroform. When he tried to pick up the broken bottle, he took in the fumes and fell to the ground immediately. The injured player recovered without any treatment.
  • After an enormous journey by sea, Mexico and the USA played a qualifying match in Rome on 24 May l934, three days before the kick-off of the Italy 1934 finals. Mexico lost the match 4-2 and went home immediately, and the USA went home three days later when they lost to Italy in the opening match.
  • The first qualifying match played on artificial turf was between Canada and the USA on 24 September 1976 in Vancouver, Canada.
  • The greatest upset in World Cup history? The USA team beat England 1-0 in the 1950 finals, though some British newspapers reported the result as USA 1, England 10, as the editor believed that the reporter had made a typing mistake. Before the match, both sides believed that it would be an easy win for England, and double-digit goals were expected.
  • Larry Gaetjens, the goalscorer in USA's 1-0 win over England in 1950, returned to his native Haiti, where he was arrested for organizing an anti-government movement. He eventually died in jail.
  • USA's star striker, Landon Donovan, the day after their defeat to Germany in the 2002 quarter-finals, played in a USA League match. Strange but true, the USA League did not have a break when the USA national team were playing in the 2002 finals. Due to the time difference, Donovan could manage to play for his club San Jose in the USA on Saturday, 22 June 2002, after playing in the quarter-finals in Korea on Friday, 21 June.
  • In recent years, the United States have emerged as a force in world football, qualifying for seven consecutive FIFA World Cup finals between 1990-2014. The Americans reached the quarter-finals at Korea/Japan 2002, losing narrowly to the eventual runners-up Germany.