Juan Reyes drove one and a half hours from San Diego with his 13-year-old son on Monday to watch the U.S. men's national team train in Irvine, one of miles of fans given a rare one-day chance to see the squad up close before Friday's World Cup opener. The morning session at Championship Soccer Stadium came with the team already settled into its headquarters in the city and with Paraguay waiting in Inglewood at the end of the week.
For Reyes, the trip was worth it. He said that once San Diego got a professional team, his family started watching more soccer, and that when the U.S. team came through, they wanted to be there. His son, Adrian, could barely contain himself. “We are super excited,” he said.
That kind of turnout matters because the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is almost here. The tournament begins Thursday and will stretch across the United States, Canada and Mexico in a format that grows to 48 teams and 104 matches, making this the biggest World Cup in history. For supporters in Southern California, Monday's session offered a brief look at a host-country team trying to settle in before the pressure begins.
Samantha Sánchez, who said she had played soccer her whole life, came to see the work for herself. “I’m a big fan,” she said. “I just want to see good plays. I want to see what they are going to do in the World Cup.” Joanna Chen Ancelat, who said she has followed the national team since 2010, called the open practice “exciting” and said it felt like a chance for everyone to come together and back the U.S. side.
The public setting came with a sharper edge, though. The United States had just lost 2-1 to Germany in Chicago on Saturday, and Monday's workout suggested a team trying to shake that result while keeping fans close. Chen Ancelat said she thought the players were taking it easy after that match and admitted Germany would not have made the game simple. That loss does not change the calendar. It sharpens it. The next test is Friday against Paraguay in Inglewood, and by then the training ground warmth in Irvine will be a memory rather than a shield.
