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The U.S. men's national team returns to one of the nation's most iconic soccer venues on Friday for their second match of the 2026 World Cup, facing Australia in a Group D showdown at Seattle's Lumen Field.
The stadium, widely regarded as one of the most electric in the country thanks to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and MLS's Seattle Sounders, has previously hosted the USMNT on two occasions, while the former Seattle Kingdome, Memorial Coliseum, and even the Seattle Mariners' T-Mobile Park have also served as match venues.
Overall, Washington State has hosted 10 USMNT matches, equal to New York. With this second game of the second men's World Cup on American soil, the state will climb to 11 matches, drawing level with Kansas and Tennessee. The USMNT holds a 7-2-1 record across those 10 contests.
Here, Sports Illustrated examines the team's history in Washington State and how that legacy could provide a home-field edge in this crucial fixture.
The USMNT's First-Ever Match in Seattle
The USMNT's inaugural game in Seattle took place on June 24, 1974, at downtown Memorial Stadium, which at the time served as home to the original Seattle Sounders in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. The USMNT suffered a 4–0 defeat to Poland that day, though the result carried little weight as it was a friendly.
The USMNT's First Win in Seattle
Just two years after their Seattle debut, the USMNT came back in 1976 for a Concacaf Championship and World Cup qualifying match at the Kingdome. That afternoon, before a crowd of more than 17,000, they claimed a 2–0 victory over Canada, with Miro Rys and Jule Veee finding the net to seal the win and advance to the qualifying playoff.
That match also holds a place in history as the first-ever FIFA World Cup qualifier contested on artificial turf. Unfortunately, the USMNT traveled to Canada for the playoff, where they were beaten 3–0 by the Canadians, who went on to qualify for the Concacaf tournament.
The USMNT's Most Important Win in Seattle
The 2013 World Cup qualifying victory over Panama was a defining moment for the USMNT and its supporters.
Not only did the 2–0 win, featuring goals from Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson, help propel the team toward the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but a crowd of over 41,000 at Lumen Field firmly put Seattle back on the USMNT's radar, while the American Outlaws supporters' group introduced the "boom-boom-clap" chant — three years before it gained worldwide recognition as Iceland's Viking Clap at Euro 2016.
When the USMNT Last Played in Seattle
The USMNT's most recent appearance in Seattle came just over a decade ago, during the Copa América Centenario — the 100th anniversary edition of the South American tournament — which the U.S. hosted and used as a cornerstone of its bid to co-host the 2026 World Cup.
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In contrast to their group stage elimination at the 2024 Copa América, the most recent South American tournament held on U.S. soil, the USMNT fared considerably better in 2016. Under then-head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, the side progressed from the group stage and eliminated Ecuador in the quarterfinals before a crowd of over 47,000 at Lumen Field, with Clint Dempsey and Gyasi Zardes on the scoresheet.
With that as the most recent chapter, this current generation of USMNT stars will be eager to add another memorable result, with a chance to claim top spot in Group D should they take all three points and Paraguay win or draw against Türkiye.