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    USMNT selects Irvine’s Great Park as base camp for FIFA World Cup
    • March 11, 2026

    The U.S. Men’s National Soccer team will use Irvine’s Great Park as training base camp for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

    The announcement was made Tuesday evening.

    “We are honored that the U.S. Men’s National Team has chosen to train at the Great Park during the FIFA World Cup,” Mayor Larry Agran said in a statement. “This decision reflects the caliber of the Great Park Championship Soccer Stadium and the professionalism of the staff who operate it. Irvine is proud to welcome the players, coaches, and supporters from around the world to our great City for one of the world’s most celebrated sporting events.”

    Training sessions will be closed to the public

    The USMNT will play its opening match at SoFi Stadium on June 12 against Paraguay. Their third group stage match, against an opponent to be named, will also be played at SoFi Stadium, June 25.

    “We are delighted to have the Great Park as our training site for the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker said in a statement. “The facilities are simply outstanding and will provide the perfect training environment for our team to prepare to be successful at the World Cup.”

    Orange County Soccer Club, in the USL Championship, currently calls the Great Park’s Championship Soccer Stadium its home field. The club has been there since 2017.

    The Great Park Sports Complex and Marriott Irvine Spectrum were among the possible locations in the FIFA brochure.

    U.S. Soccer also announced that the Soccer Forward Foundation will partner with the city and local organizations “to deliver a community-based coaching development programming” leading up to the World Cup.

    The initiative will “equip local coaches with training, tools, and resources designed to help them better support and inspire young people in their communities.”

    The USMNT has a pair of March friendlies in Atlanta (on the 28th against Belgium and the 31st against Portugal).

    The final friendlies before the World Cup are May 31 against Senegal in Charlotte, North Carolina, and June 6 against Germany in Chicago.

    ​ Orange County Register 

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