Atlanta will host U.S. men against Belgium, Portugal

Atlanta will host the U.S. men’s national team for two important World Cup warmup matches against Belgium and Portugal in March at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The U.S. will host Belgium at 3:30 p.m. March 28 and Portugal at 7 p.m. March 31. The match against Belgium will be the 18th in the package for Atlanta United season-ticket holders. More information is scheduled to be sent to holders later this week.

The matches against Belgium and Portugal are “home” matches for the U.S. because Atlanta will be the home of U.S. Soccer. The Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center is under construction in Fayetteville and scheduled to open in spring 2026.

Belgium and Portugal are two of the better teams in the world.

Belgium, No. 8 in FIFA’s world rankings, features Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku, Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard, Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans, Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Napoli’s Kevin De Bruyne.

Portugal, ranked No. 6 by FIFA, includes Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the sport’s greatest players and its all-time leading scorer, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Paris Saint-Germain’s Vitinha.

“For us, this is a massive opportunity to challenge ourselves against some of the top teams in the world,” U.S. men’s coach Mauricio Pochettino said in a statement from the United States Soccer Federation. “These are incredible matches for the players and for the fans. We are so happy to be playing in our new home of Atlanta, and of course to be competing in the great cities of Charlotte and Chicago ahead of the World Cup.”

In addition to the two matches, the U.S. is scheduled to play another match against an opponent to-be determined in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 31, and Germany on June 6 in Chicago in its World Cup send-off match.

The U.S. is one of three host countries for next year’s World Cup, which will include eight matches in Atlanta.

Presale tickets for the Atlanta matches go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Tickets for the public are scheduled to go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.

Belgium

FIFA rank: 8

Nickname: The Red Devils (De Rode Duivels, Les Diables Rouges)

Colors: Red, black and gold

Manager: Rudi Garcia

Key players: Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), midfielder Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Winger Jeremy Doku (Manchester City)

Typical formation: 4-3-3

Portugal

FIFA rank: 6

Nickname: Team of the Quincunxes (Seleção das Quinas)

Colors: Red and green

Manager: Roberto Martinez

Key players: Midfielder Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), midfielder Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), winger Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr)

Typical formation: 4-3-3