The United States national team will play a friendly against Peru at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando. The match is scheduled for 26 September 2026 at 16:30 EDT / 13:30 PDT.
For the United States, this marks the start of a new cycle under Mauricio Pochettino after a successful 2026 FIFA World Cup, where the team reached the Round of 16. Peru, meanwhile, head into the match as the 50th-ranked national team in the FIFA rankings and on a run of poor results in friendlies in 2026.
The United States national team, led by Mauricio Pochettino, who has extended his contract with the federation until 2030, enjoyed a strong home FIFA World Cup: they progressed from the group (beating Australia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and losing to Turkey), comfortably defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2:0 in the round of 32, and only lost to Belgium 1:4 in the round of 16. This is the Americans' best result at a home World Cup, and they now begin a new cycle with a friendly in Orlando—a city where, according to the organisers, the United States national team are unbeaten. The squad includes the leading players from the tournament, Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun and Weston McKennie, who will have extra motivation to play in front of their own fans as heroes of the home World Cup.
Peru, meanwhile, are going through a difficult period of rebuilding: the team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in a long while, collecting just 12 points from 18 qualifying matches, and are now at the very beginning of a new cycle—towards qualification for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Their September tour of the United States and Canada (successive matches against the United States, Mexico, Canada and Colombia) is clearly intended as a test and bedding-in period: Peru will arrive without tournament sharpness or the top-level experience the Americans gained at their home World Cup. In their last friendly in June, Peru lost 1:3 to future world champions Spain, showing little defensive organisation.
The difference in current form, motivation and player quality favours the hosts. The United States will play their first match in front of their fans after a successful home tournament and should overcome a side undergoing a major rebuild of both the squad and coaching staff without too much trouble.
United States
Peru
United States
Peru
| Bookie | 1 | X | 2 |
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