Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to play in the United States for the first time in more than a decade, with the U.S. men’s national team in advanced discussions with Portugal to host an exhibition match in March 2026.
According to sources close to the discussions, who remain anonymous as they are not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, the USMNT is seeking to play games against both Portugal and Belgium in March. The location is still to be fully signed off but is likely to take place in an NFL-sized venue on the east coast with the Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium an option for the Portugal match.
The USMNT does not need to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as a host country, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino has expressed a desire to face teams from different confederations to test his players in the year leading up to the competition. They were beaten 2-0 by South Korea on Saturday and will play Japan on Tuesday, before facing Ecuador, Australia, Paraguay and Uruguay in October and November.
The friendlies against Portugal and Belgium, both currently ranked among the world’s top 10 best sides by FIFA, will be contingent on both European teams qualifying for the tournament in the U.S., Canada and Mexico next year, without having to contest European playoffs next spring. Portugal is also in line to play against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in the same March window.
The U.S.’ potential match against Portugal would end Ronaldo’s almost 12-year absence from playing in the United States. He has not appeared in a soccer match on American soil since August 2, 2014, when he came on as a substitute for Real Madrid against Manchester United in front of a crowd of 109,318 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. He also played for Portugal in the U.S. earlier that summer in an exhibition game against the Republic of Ireland at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
YouGov polling in the U.S. ranks Ronaldo as the second-best known player among the American public, second only to Lionel Messi. But since 2017 when the German newspaper Der Spiegel revealed details of an alleged sexual assault involving Ronaldo and the model Kathryn Mayorga during a holiday in Las Vegas in 2009 — always strenuously denied by Ronaldo and for which charges have never been brought — the player has not been publicly photographed in the U.S.. He has also not been part of any pre-season or exhibition matches in the country since then, whether playing for Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United or his current club Al Nassr. He did have preliminary discussions in late 2022 over a possible move to MLS’ Sporting Kansas City but went to Saudi Arabia instead.
Yet even at the age of 40, Ronaldo is once again a central part of the Portugal national team. He scored twice against Armenia in World Cup qualifying in a 5-0 win on Saturday night, while he also scored against Germany and Spain in the semi-final and final of Portugal’s UEFA Nations League success earlier this summer.
United States eyeing up UCI base in 2026; England looking at Kansas City
Seventeen nations have so far guaranteed a spot at next summer’s tournament, which means discussions are already taking place over potential training bases for the competition. Nations will largely wait for the draw to take place on December 5, after which they will know the locations of their group-stage matches.
The USMNT, however, already knows its group-stage matches are guaranteed to take place on June 12, June 19 and June 26, with a match in Seattle sandwiched between two games at Los Angeles’ SoFi stadium. As such, they have been exploring potential training sites in California, undertaken several visits and are in advanced discussions to use the facilities at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) as the training base. The facilities were used by French side Paris Saint-Germain during the Club World Cup this summer, while the venue hosted the Romania team during the 1994 men’s World Cup in the U.S..
Champions League winners PSG trained at UCI in June (Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images)
Other nations are able to either choose from FIFA’s list of contracted base camps, of which more than 60 are listed on the FIFA website, or they can negotiate directly with venues.
The English Football Association will not finalise any arrangement until their place in the draw is confirmed but delegates have been on recces to various sites. Their final decision may be decided by the draw but representatives have visited Kansas City. There are three training sites listed on FIFA’s guide, which are the Kansas Current (NWSL) facility, the Sporting Kansas City (MLS) facility and the University of Kansas. The Kansas City Chiefs’ training facility in St. Joseph, Mo. will not be a team base but will be available to be used by nations which need training facilities for a day or two between matches.
The Chiefs and the English FA declined to comment. English FA officials have also paid a visit to Charlotte FC’s facilities in North Carolina.
Is FIFA getting back into video games?
In 2022, FIFA split with its long-time gaming partner EA Sports and the world’s most popular soccer video game, which generated more than $20 billion in sales in the previous two decades, lost the right to have FIFA’s name in the title. Essentially, EA kept the game and FIFA kept its name.
The president of soccer’s world governing body Gianni Infantino, however, insisted the FIFA brand would continue to produce “THE BEST” games. He said in a press release in May 2022: “I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans. The FIFA name is the only global, original title… The constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain THE BEST.”
Yet following the final combined effort for FIFA 23, it is EA who stole a march, launching its EA FC game, which leveraged its retention of licenses with major confederations and leagues. This allowed EA to use the names of clubs, leagues, competitions and players, as well as the likeness of the players to make the game appear as realistic as possible. FIFA, however, has remained out of the market.
It was curious, then, when The Athletic recently obtained access to a secret demo for a World Cup 2026 video game complete with FIFA branding. Posted on the video platform Vimeo, it is a one-minute-and-fifteen-second-long video of a version of a game entitled FIFA 26, with the possibility to select ‘FIFA World Cup 26’ at the landing page, while then describing the game as the exclusive home of the World Cup. It then shows a demo of a match involving Spain and Argentina, in which Lionel Messi scores a goal. The advertising hoardings on the side of the pitch during the game feature FIFA sponsors McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Bank of America.
The video was posted by a man named Nathan Burba, whose LinkedIn profile says he is the co-founder of Refactor Games, a gaming development company based in Santa Monica. The demo seen by The Athletic was posted on May 25, 2025, and says it is V.5 (version 5) of the game’s development, calling itself a “trailer for FIFA” and codenamed as “Project Aragorn”. In the author J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sindarin language, Aragorn means “noble” or “king.”
When contacted by The Athletic, Refactor Games said it is not under “any contract with FIFA” and “has not been invited by FIFA to develop any kind of demo”.
FIFA declined to comment on commercially sensitive topics but people close to FIFA, who spoke anonymously as they are not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, said they are working on the diversification of their gaming and e-sports portfolio and added that they are exploring collaborations with a variety of industry stakeholders.
World Cup volunteers promised ‘lasting friendships’ but U.S. visas unclear
In August, FIFA opened up applications for its volunteer programme for next summer’s World Cup. In an email to media, FIFA said approximately 65,000 volunteers will be called upon. These positions are unpaid and FIFA said that volunteering-related expenses are not covered by FIFA. Volunteers must therefore arrange their own travel to the host countries, as well as accommodation and other related costs — including, potentially, visas if coming from overseas.
Volunteers receive a uniform and meals during their shifts, as well as a certificate and, FIFA say, “lasting friendships.” Volunteers will be expected to attend try-outs, as well as undergoing training and attending a minimum of eight shifts.
Volunteering for the much smaller Club World Cup this summer was open only to U.S. residents but, as Infantino reiterated during a press conference with the African confederation (CAF) in Kenya last week, FIFA would like volunteers to come from much further afield in 2026.
The Athletic, however, has been told by people close to the process that the U.S. State Department, which handles visas for entry into the United States, is yet to provide clarity to FIFA as to which visa class FIFA volunteers should apply for when seeking to enter the country for the tournament. This is despite Infantino telling the press conference in Kenya that there is “a lot of misconception out there” about U.S. immigration policy.
Gianni Infantino (centre) prepares to present the African Nations Championship trophy in Nairobi, Kenya on August 30 (Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement to The Athletic on Monday, a State Department spokesperson said: “We are working diligently to ensure an efficient, smooth and effective visa process which protects America’s security.”
When asked again to specify the visa class that prospective volunteers should pursue, the State Department did not reply.
A FIFA spokesperson also did not provide clarification but said: “FIFA continues to work closely with all host country governments in Canada, Mexico and the United States on visa processing for the FIFA World Cup 2026. We are committed to ensuring that all accredited groups — including volunteers — adhere to host country entry requirements.”
In Kenya, Infantino underwent a rare bout of forensic questioning when he appeared alongside the CAF president Patrice Motsepe. The journalist Saddique Shaban asked Infantino why it had taken him so long to visit Kenya for the first time before explaining that African football fans are “a little bit jittery about what is happening in the U.S.” while another South African reporter said: “We are going to play it in a country where some of us do not feel welcome. I think the onus is on you to make sure that Africa and all the other people of the world do not feel like outcasts, do not feel like they are being made second-class citizens in a world where equality should prevail.”
Infantino insisted: “I can really underline and repeat again that everyone will be welcome in North America next year for the World Cup.”
(Top photo: Hrach Khachatryan/ MB Media/Getty Images)