One of the biggest gripes United States men’s national team fans have about attending games is the high ticket prices. That could be changing this fall with a report from Eric Goodman of the Austin Chronicle that tickets for the USA’s friendly vs. Ecuador in Austin, Texas, could have tickets for as low as $35.
USMNT ticket prices dropping?
NEWS: The #USMNT will return to Austin's Q2 Stadium on Friday, October 10th, for a crucial friendly against Ecuador in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup.
Huge match, and I'm told tickets will start as low as $35. pic.twitter.com/q9RxLIQfiZ— Eric Goodman (@Goodman) July 14, 2025
The high cost of tickets has been a major contributor to the low attendance the USMNT have seen just one year out from a home World Cup. This calendar year has seen the team play in either half-empty stadiums or arenas filled with opposing fans.
Ticket prices during the 2025 Gold Cup — which were set by Concacaf, not U.S. Soccer — were brutal. Despite the big names like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie being absent, tickets for a group stage game at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, against Saudi Arabia were selling for over $100 each after taxes.
Tickets for USMNT vs. Saudi Arabia on June 19th are still available, with prices starting at $92. That’s $368+ for a family of 4 to watch a B team squad in a group stage match.
When the stands are half-full, it’s not about support. It’s about affordability.#USMNT #GoldCup2025 pic.twitter.com/KShx2lXpn8— Adam Benlaziz (@ABenlaziz) June 19, 2025
According to Goodman, fans might be able to watch the USMNT “A-Team” play in that same stadium in October for nearly $70 cheaper. Due to the game being a friendly, U.S. Soccer can control the pricing for entry.
The American Outlaws, the USMNT’s top supporter group, also plan on making attending games more affordable. The AO announced on Monday that all tickets in the supporter’s section will be capped at $45 for U.S. Soccer hosted matches.
We heard you and we got to work
We are proud to announce a major step forward in our mission to make soccer more accessible: starting today, AO tickets for all U.S. Soccer-hosted matches will be capped at $45.More info here https://t.co/urO48NluNR
— AO (@AmericanOutlaws) July 14, 2025
Time will tell if the prices truly drop. As of Tuesday, July 15, the tickets still appear incredibly expensive.
The USMNT will host South Korea at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, on Sept. 6. A look at the official ticket prices from U.S. Soccer via Ticketmaster shows that the cheapest ticket is $126.
Making these upcoming friendly games ahead of the 2026 World Cup more affordable could greatly boost the interest in the team. The wide consensus from fans on cheaper tickets seems to be the same: we’ll believe it when we see it.
