The United States Men's National Team is heading back to Cincinnati, and this time the stakes are bigger than any of its previous five visits. U.S. Soccer announced that TQL Stadium will host the second leg of a CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal on Nov. 17, marking the USMNT's first official match of the new cycle leading toward the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, and fans who can't grab a seat inside the West End venue will have plenty of ways to watch. According to WVXU, the match will air on TBS, truTV, and Universo, with streaming available on Max and Peacock, while Westwood One Sports and Fútbol de Primera will handle live radio coverage. As WLWT reports, the opponent won't be finalized until after the CONCACAF Nations League's League A group stage wraps up in October, since the U.S. received a direct entry into the quarterfinals alongside Canada, Mexico and Panama.
A Perfect Record on West End Turf
Cincinnati has quickly become something of a fortress for the national team. The USMNT is unbeaten in four matches at TQL Stadium since it opened, a run that includes the memorable 2-0 “Dos a Cero” World Cup qualifying win over Mexico in November 2021, a 3-0 friendly victory over Morocco in June 2022, and a Gold Cup quarterfinal shootout win over Canada in July 2023, per WVXU's reporting. The team's only blemish across all five prior Cincinnati appearances was a 3-0 loss to Venezuela at Nippert Stadium back in 2019, before TQL Stadium had even opened. WLWT notes that the team's full all-time record in Cincinnati now stands at 2-1-2, with the club last playing there on Sept. 10, 2024, in a 1-1 draw against New Zealand. That match doubled as the stage where head coach Mauricio Pochettino's appointment was first announced on the TQL Stadium video board.
Ohio's Reputation as American Soccer Turf
Zoom out to the state level, and the pattern holds. The U.S. Soccer Federation reports that the USMNT owns a 16-3-5 all-time record across Ohio as of September, having not lost a match in Cincinnati since that 2019 defeat at Nippert Stadium. Columbus and Cincinnati have long served as go-to hosts for high-stakes qualifiers, and this November's fixture continues that trend.
Part of the draw is the building itself. TQL Stadium opened in May 2021 in Cincinnati's West End at a cost of $250 million, according to Visit Cincy, and holds 26,000 fans, including the 3,170-capacity supporters' section known as “The Bailey,” built at a steep 34-degree slope designed to keep noise trapped over the pitch. The venue, designed by architecture firm Populous, was named Best Venue at the 2022 World Football Summit in Madrid.
Pochettino's New Four-Year Mandate
The November match arrives with fresh coaching stability behind it. U.S. Soccer signed Pochettino to a contract extension on Aug. 3, keeping the Argentine manager in charge through the 2030 World Cup after he was originally appointed in September 2024 on a deal that ran only through this past summer's tournament. Pochettino said, per WLWT, that Cincinnati is an excellent host for the team's first official match of the new cycle, calling the Nations League an important competition and an opportunity to challenge the team.
That new mandate follows a mixed showing at the 2026 World Cup. Pochettino led the USMNT to a top finish in its group before the team fell 4-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16 on July 6 in Seattle, as reported by AS. The Americans had beaten Paraguay and Australia in group play before their run ended at Lumen Field.
What's at Stake in November
This two-legged Nations League quarterfinal tie carries real consequences. The winner on aggregate advances to the 2027 Nations League Finals in March 2027 at SoFi Stadium in California, a tournament the USMNT has previously dominated by winning the first three editions between 2021 and 2024. Before the Cincinnati leg, the national team has a busy stretch of friendlies on the calendar, including matches against Peru in Orlando on Sept. 26, Chile in St. Louis on Sept. 29, Mexico in Glendale on Oct. 3, and Canada in St. Paul on Oct. 6.
Grabbing a Ticket to TQL Stadium
Fans hoping to be inside the West End for the Nov. 17 match have a tiered path to tickets. Orange and Blue Reserve members and FC Cincinnati season ticket holders both get access to an exclusive presale beginning Sept. 17, followed by general public sales starting Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. local time.
Local host club FC Cincinnati has helped build the stadium's reputation as a scoring hotbed this year, posting an 11-3-2 record across all competitions at TQL Stadium through mid-September while averaging 2.82 goals per home match in MLS play, according to FC Cincinnati. The venue's growing global profile was further cemented when FIFA picked TQL for the FIFA Club World Cup, selecting it as one of 12 host sites for the 2025 tournament, where it hosted four group-stage matches.
