U.S. Soccer selected Orlando to host the U.S. Men’s National Team’s critical Concacaf Nations League home match due to the atmosphere that Orlando brings. The participants for the final round of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be determined based on the FIFA rankings at the conclusion of this tournament. Therefore, the Nations League’s matches have added significance for their impact on the rankings. The U.S. Men’s National Soccer team coach, Gregg Berhalter, was quoted“Winning at home is critical in these tournaments, so finding a home-field advantage is important. When you talk about great environments, the atmosphere in this stadium is one of the best in the country. Like we’ve seen in previous visits, the fans in Orlando are there when you need them and we look forward to their support.”
This will be the second time that the US Men’s team has played in Orlando this year and is once again a key opportunity for the Greater Orlando community and State of Florida to showcase our strong support and enthusiasm for the sport before FIFA makes its final selection of host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. Also, this will be the first time that the Canadian Soccer Federation will be in town. They are partners with USA and Mexico on the FIFA World Cup bid and it will be a great opportunity to convey how committed Orlando is to hosting World Cup matches.