United States National Football Team: USA Squad, Fixtures and African Kick Off Times

The United States national football team, known as the USMNT, is the senior men's side of the American federation, and it played its first official international on 20 August 1916, beating Sweden in Stockholm. If you typed 'united states' looking for the women's team, the USWNT, that is a separate side with its own squad and coach, and everything below concerns the men. The squad, fixtures and results modules provide the changing details, while the Ghana meetings give readers in Africa a historical connection to the team.

Americans call the game soccer, which South African readers will recognise, but it is the same sport you watch on a Saturday in a Lagos viewing centre. The sections below explain how to convert a New York or Los Angeles kick off for Nairobi or Johannesburg, how the 2026 home World Cup went, and which Ghana results are still remembered on both sides of the Atlantic.

Who Are the USMNT, and Which United States Team Do You Mean?

The USMNT are the senior men's team of the United States, the side that plays World Cups, the CONCACAF Gold Cup and friendlies under the national federation. The letters stand for United States Men's National Team. The players come from MLS, the domestic league, and from clubs right across Europe. In practice, the abbreviation identifies the senior men's squad.

The women's team is a separate national side, with its own coach, its own squad and its own fixture list, so it helps to know which one you are after before you check a time. Use the USMNT label to distinguish the men's entries when reading squad, fixture and record information. Youth and Olympic teams also play under the same flag, but their call ups and results sit apart from the senior side.

USA Fixtures: What Time Is Kick Off in Lagos, Accra, Nairobi and Johannesburg?

Each American international has an opponent, competition and date alongside converted kick offs for the five African countries: Lagos uses WAT; Nairobi shares EAT with Kampala; Johannesburg uses SAST; Accra uses GMT. During daylight saving in New York, a 20:00 Eastern start for the Americans translates to the next calendar date across these cities: Lagos 01:00 WAT, Nairobi 03:00 EAT, Kampala 03:00 EAT, Johannesburg 02:00 SAST, Accra 00:00 GMT. A Los Angeles USA fixture scheduled for 19:00 during daylight saving reaches those audiences the next morning at Lagos 03:00 WAT, Nairobi 05:00 EAT, Kampala 05:00 EAT, Johannesburg 04:00 SAST and Accra 02:00 GMT.

New York and Los Angeles turn their clocks back in November and advance them in March, changing the viewing hour for American internationals abroad. The African conversion stays anchored to four zones throughout the year: Nigerian WAT, Kenyan and Ugandan EAT, South African SAST and Ghanaian GMT. Under New York standard time, a USA kick off listed as 20:00 Eastern becomes Lagos 02:00 WAT, Nairobi 04:00 EAT, Kampala 04:00 EAT, Johannesburg 03:00 SAST and Accra 01:00 GMT, with all five readings belonging to the next calendar date. Consult the viewing information attached to the American fixture for your country on match day. An evening USA international can reach African screens after midnight, so read its converted calendar date alongside the kick off hour.

Who Is in the USA Squad?

The squad module lists every player in the latest USA squad by position, goalkeepers first, then defenders, midfielders and forwards, with his club and his caps beside his name. It refreshes with each call up, which matters because an American squad can change a great deal between a summer Gold Cup and an autumn international window. The captain carries a marker in the list, and the head coach can hand the armband to different players across a cycle. Caps are the quickest guide to experience, and a player with a long column of them is usually the one the younger names look to in a tight second half.

Read the club and caps columns together to distinguish club experience from international appearances. Nigerian connections also give the club details context: Daryl Dike, born to Nigerian parents, joined Orlando City in 2020, played on loan at Barnsley in 2021 and joined West Bromwich Albion in 2022. Those dated moves provide a route through his club history without treating any squad selection as permanent.

Who Coaches the United States National Team?

Mauricio Pochettino was announced as head coach of the United States in September 2024, replacing Gregg Berhalter. That appointment is part of the team's coaching history. The coaching panel beside the squad module identifies the head coach for the squad being displayed.

How Did the 2026 World Cup Go for the Host Nation?

The United States reached the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, a tournament it shared as host with Mexico and Canada after its automatic place was confirmed in February 2023. In the group the Americans beat Paraguay 4 to 1 and Australia 2 to 0 and lost 3 to 2 to Turkey, which was enough to go through to the new round of 32. There they beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 to 0, before Belgium won 4 to 1 in the round of 16.

In 1994, the only other time the USA hosted after FIFA chose it in July 1988, the team also went out in the last 16, losing 1 to 0 to Brazil, so both home tournaments ended at that stage, with 2026 adding an extra knockout win along the way.

What Have the Stars and Stripes Won?

The United States won seven CONCACAF Gold Cups between 1991 and 2021, in 1991, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2021, which makes it the honour the record book returns to most. The Gold Cup is the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, so it is the regional equivalent of the Africa Cup of Nations. The Americans reached the 2009 Confederations Cup final in South Africa, when they beat Spain 2 to 0 in the semi final and then lost the final 3 to 2 to Brazil. Many South African readers will remember that tournament as the rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup.

The World Cup story starts early: third place at the first tournament, in Uruguay in 1930, is still the best American finish. In 1950, in Belo Horizonte, Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal as the USA beat England 1 to 0, a result still quoted whenever a smaller football nation fancies its chances. The 2002 side reached the quarter finals and lost 1 to 0 to Germany, and in 2016 the team hosted the Copa América Centenario and finished fourth, matching its best Copa result from 1995. It could be argued that those dates show a side that has often saved its best for the biggest stages.

Who Holds the USA Records?

Cobi Jones recorded 164 USA men's caps and retired from international football in 2004, a dated example of what the caps column in the squad module measures. The goalscoring and appearance tables sit in the records module above, which updates whenever a current player climbs the list, so the written history here sticks to marks that are settled. The oldest of those is the first official international, a win over Sweden in Stockholm on 20 August 1916, and every new cap adds to more than a century of matches since.

How Have the USA Done Against African Teams?

The USA and Ghana met at the World Cups in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Ghana won 2 to 1 in the group stage in 2006, then won 2 to 1 again in the round of 16 in 2010, and the Americans won 2 to 1 in the group stage in 2014. Across those three meetings, Ghana won twice and the USA once, with every match settled by a single goal. In my opinion, it is the closest thing the Black Stars have to a North American derby.

The USA also faced Algeria at the 2010 World Cup, when Landon Donovan scored in stoppage time to beat Algeria 1 to 0. That tournament was held in South Africa, a year after the Confederations Cup there, so the Americans played two major tournaments on African soil in consecutive years. The table below lists the results against African sides at those tournaments.

Where Do USA Players Play, and Why Do Fans in Africa Follow Them?

Daryl Dike's club history gives Nigerian readers a specific connection to the American team. Born in 2000 to Nigerian parents, he joined Orlando City in 2020, moved to Barnsley on loan in 2021 and signed for West Bromwich Albion in 2022. His elder brother Bright represented Nigeria, while Daryl made his USA debut in 2021.

For readers following that connection through club football, the squad's club column identifies the team associated with each listed player. Readers who want to set the Stars and Stripes beside the Super Eagles or the Black Stars can find every side on our national teams hub, with the same kick off zones for each team.

Why Do Americans Use a Different Word for Football?

Americans keep the word football for their own gridiron sport, which is why the national team is usually described there with the other word, the one South Africans use for Bafana Bafana. The game on the pitch is identical, and the terminology used here is football for readers in all five countries. If you want cleaner search results on your phone, type USMNT for the men or USWNT for the women, which keeps both the gridiron and the wrong team out of the list.