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The United States men's national team will begin its World Cup preparations on June 1 with a friendly against Morocco in Cincinnati, the location of the team's 2-0 victory against Mexico in November, which was the pinnacle of the seven-month qualifying campaign.

The June international window, which includes four games, will be the longest stretch of time the United States will have together before the World Cup in Qatar in November and December. The Americans will play Morocco at TQL Stadium and a second exhibition opponent at a yet-to-be-announced U.S. location before beginning Concacaf Nations League action in the middle of the month in Mexico City. The United States was pitted against Grenada (who hosts the match on June 10) and El Salvador (away on June 14).

Two further friendlies in late September will round off the national team's restricted pre-World Cup program before the tournament in Russia.

Gregg Berhalter, the head coach of the United States, said, "We're delighted to meet a fellow World Cup finalist and offer our guys with a different challenge." 'With only six international games remaining until the World Cup, this is an extremely important phase in our team's preparation play tic tac toe. As a result of Cincinnati's outstanding training facilities, world-class stadium, and incredible atmosphere, the team provided us with a fantastic start to our summer fixtures."

With a 7-0-1 record, Morocco is ranked 24th in the world (second in Africa) and has qualified for its second consecutive World Cup after scoring 25 goals and conceding only three. The team has qualified for the World Cup for the second time in three years. Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain and Youssef En-Nesyri of Sevilla are two of the most renowned members of the Atlas Lions. The United States has lost all three of its previous encounters with Morocco, the most recent of which was a 1-0 friendly defeat in Nashville in 2006.

The pandemic, the compacted international schedule, and the reduction in friendlies necessitated by the introduction of Nations League events in Europe and Concacaf have significantly curtailed Berhalter's ability to expose his squad to a more diverse and non-regional opponent. There have been 32 games played by the United States since the beginning of 2020, with only five coming against teams from outside the Concacaf region: four friendlies and the 2021 Gold Cup semifinal triumph over Qatar. There has been little time to prepare for teams like England, Iran, and the winner of the Wales/Scotland/Ukraine playoff, all of whom will be the Americans' World Cup opponents in Brazil and Germany. This is as good as it is going to get in terms of non-Nations League friendlies moving forward.

In recent weeks, there have been suggestions that Uruguay could be the other probable opponent in the June tournament. It is planned to play that game on June 5. In fact, La Celeste has already arranged a game against Mexico for June 2 in Phoenix, so they will be in the country at that time. Berhalter has stated that he intends to take his team to Europe in September, according to ESPN.