The Arthur M. Blank National Training Center had its ribbon-cutting on May 7.
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Just in time for the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has unveiled a sprawling, state-of-the-art complex in the Atlanta suburbs that shows just how much the nation’s soccer community is willing to spend on soccer.
The most commonly cited cost estimate of The Arthur C. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center is $250 million, though some reports put the number a little lower. Most of the funding comes from the U.S. Soccer Federation, which floated $200 million in bonds via Fayette County’s development authority.
But donors and sponsors have been quick to open their checkbooks. “Founding partners” include AT&T, Bank of America, Chobani, Emory Healthcare, Nike, ŌURA and Atlanta’s own Coca-Cola. The namesake donor, Home Depot co-founder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, contributed $50 million on top of his other massive investments in soccer — paying MLS a $70 million expansion fee to launch Atlanta United in 2014, investing $90 million for Atlanta United’s training facilities, and investing $350 million to bring an NWSL team in the NWSL. Chick-Fil-A chairman and former CEO Dan Cathy donated land, and Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang has contributed as part of her $55 million pledge to the federation.
And the Atlanta facility — which includes the federation’s headquarters, relocated from Chicago — isn’t even the federation’s only training facility. It still has agreements in place for facilities near Los Angeles and Kansas City.
U.S. Soccer is fortunate to have such big-moneyed backers, because the federation’s spending on its national teams — including not just the men’s and women’s teams frequently seen on TV but also youth national teams, futsal, beach soccer and disability sports — has gone through the roof. In fiscal year 2025, the federation spent more than $107 million on national teams. In 2001, that figure was $15.2 million, or $28.6 million adjusted for inflation.
And that spending doesn’t include programs such as the Development Academy, which built up through the 2010s into what was to be a $9.3 million expense in fiscal year 2021 before COVID hit. The federation dropped that program, but MLS immediately filled the void with a similar national league. The Development Academy was a stepping-stone for several members of the 2026 team, including vital players such as Christian Pulisic (briefly), Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, before they moved overseas.
So, after all that spending, is the men’s national team any better?
It’s certainly better than the inexperienced 1990 team, though that team deserves immense credit for ending the country’s four-decade qualifying drought. It’s better than the 1998 team that had severe chemistry problems. The team underachieved in 2006. The most recent three World Cup performances have been good but not great, advancing out of the group stage each time with gutsy performances and a supernatural ability to frustrate England.
Who’s The Best?
The contenders for the best U.S. team since 1930 are:
First: the 2002 team that reached the quarterfinals as the stars all aligned. Core players were healthy, young players burst onto the scene, coach Bruce Arena outfoxed Mexico in the round of 16, and they had more than a little luck — Portugal imploded in a loss to South Korea that advanced the U.S. to the knockout rounds even as they inexplicably lost to Poland, and the referee didn’t see a handball that would’ve given Mexico a penalty kick in the 2-0 U.S. win.
Second: the 1994 team that had one of the most impressive wins in U.S. history, a 2-1 win over highly touted Colombia, and dealt with the pressures of representing the U.S. on home soil while facing legions of doubters who thought the team wasn’t good enough and Americans wouldn’t care if they were. With no substantial pro league in the U.S. and few opportunities for players overseas, the federation signed many players to full-time contracts and put them in a residency program. It was a hard-scrabble existence, with players sometimes changing for practice in the empty unit of a strip mall, but it was an investment that paid off.
So if the 2026 team played either of these teams, who would win?
2026 vs. 1994
If Chris Richards (2026) is healthy, he and Tim Ream could frustrate 1994 attackers Earnie Stewart and Eric Wynalda. Tab Ramos (1994) was one of the most creative playmakers in U.S. men’s history, but he and John Harkes would run straight into Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, accomplished veterans of top European leagues.
This year’s team would also struggle to score — perhaps Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun could get the better of Marcelo Balboa and Alexi Lalas, though the 1994 center backs shouldn’t be taken lightly by any means, but German-born Thomas Dooley (1994) would control the space in front of them.
The difference-makers could be the 2026 outside backs — Antonee Robinson on the left, Sergiño Dest on the right. But if it comes down to a goalkeeper making a big save, Tony Meola (1994) was the first in a long line of outstanding goalkeepers that petered out with Tim Howard’s retirement.
Prediction: 1-1 draw, with Meola making a couple of big saves but eventually conceding to Balogun or Pulisic, while Stewart or Wynalda scratch out a goal on a 2026 lapse.
2026 vs. 2002
Landon Donovan and Brian McBride up front. A healthy Claudio Reyna and John O’Brien in midfield. Frankie Hejduk racing up and down one flank. The 2002 attack is an unstoppable force, and the 2026 defense is not an immovable object.
At the back, 2002 defender Eddie Pope would be able to control Pulisic or Balogun but not both, and that might be where the 2026 team could take advantage. But then they face off against goalkeeper Brad Friedel, whose stellar career peaked at this Cup. Tony Sanneh had a career year on both sides of the ball and could be able to limit Robinson.
Prediction: 3-1 to the 2002 team. Donovan scores on a counterattack, and McBride pounds his way through traffic to score twice.
The X Factor
One of the most compelling moments in the HBO series “U.S. Against the World” is after a crushing defeat against Panama. It’s not a postgame speech — the team has had time to absorb the loss. Coach Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t yell or rant or throw anything. He calmly tells the team they just didn’t match Panama’s effort.
The population of the United States is roughly 75 times larger than that of Panama. And there’s no question that the U.S. talent pool is better. The U.S. has players at famed European clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan, Juventus and Monaco. According to estimates at the site transfermarkt.com, the combined value of the U.S. team in the player transfer marketplace is more than 10 times the value of the Panamanian squad.
And yet the Central Americans have beaten the U.S. in the 2023 Gold Cup semifinals, the 2024 Copa America group stage and the 2025 CONCACAF Nations League semifinals.
To say it’s all a matter of heart would be simplistic. But did the 1994 squad learn a few things in hostile college rivalry games, indoor games and semipro games that the 2026 squad didn’t learn growing up in professional academies?
Money can buy fields, offices, massage rooms, hydrotherapy areas and sleep pods. The rest of the winning formula has to come from somewhere else.