USMNT Lands Its Own Documentary Series Counting Down to 2026 World Cup, Spotlighting Pulisic, McKennie and Beyond

Before the opening whistle of soccer's biggest stage this summer, the U.S. men's national team will first step into the spotlight of a new documentary series, "U.S. Against the World: Four Years with the Men's National Soccer Team."

The debut episode of the HBO Original produced by Park Stories, "The Golden Generation," premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Max, precisely one month before the USMNT's opening fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The four remaining episodes will drop weekly, every Tuesday through June 9.

As the Stars and Stripes prepare for a landmark run on home turf next month—with 16 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico serving as tournament hosts—the documentary first rewinds the clock, tracking the squad over the last four years. It kicks off with the buildup to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as the USMNT pursued a spot in the global tournament for the first time since 2014, following their failure to qualify in 2018.

The documentary focuses on the likes of Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, among other American standouts, who made their World Cup debuts in 2022 as young players but will now enter the 2026 tournament as battle-hardened veterans, fully aware of what it takes to succeed in soccer's most demanding environment. At least 12 of the U.S.'s rostered players this summer will carry prior World Cup experience.

Growing the Game in the U.S.

The release of this documentary series is just the latest move by U.S. Soccer to fuel not only enthusiasm around the team, but soccer culture across the country, ahead of the sport's premier event arriving on American shores.

Throughout the U.S., interest in soccer still largely lags behind football, basketball and baseball. Hosting the World Cup—something the U.S. hasn't done since 1994—has been seen as a tremendous opportunity to elevate the game, and the USMNT are determined to make the most of it. To do so effectively, however, the squad will need more than documentary cameras. It will need results.

"We can understand what they're going through as far as the pressure in 2026 because you want to have success in front of your fans," Cobi Jones, a 1994 USMNT star, told Sports Illustrated in February. "You know what it means. You know that if you have a successful World Cup, it allows for exponential growth of the game within your country."

The USMNT has never advanced beyond the quarterfinal stage in the modern World Cup era, a milestone last reached over two decades ago at the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. Since then, the team has been limited to the round of 16 at best, or eliminated during the group stage.

Pochettino harbors an ambitious goal of a semifinal run, and while it may seem out of reach for the Stars and Stripes given the presence of powerhouses like Argentina, France, Spain and Portugal, it is far from impossible. In fact, the U.S. faces a relatively favorable group stage draw against Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye. Several key players, including McKennie and Folarin Balogun, are also hitting their stride at just the right moment—though Pulisic remains a concern, with his troubling goal drought showing no signs of ending.

Combine those factors with a bit of fortune and the "home field" advantage, and this could shape up to be a historic summer for the Americans.