December 7 – The 2026 World Cup is already reshaping American soccer in multiple ways, and no competition is safe, as evidenced by next year’s US Open Cup. With Major League Soccer shutting down for two months during the tournament, US Soccer has had to be creative to avoid a fixture pile-up and has taken the decision to compress the Open Cup into seven rounds instead of the usual eight.
Fewer dates mean fewer teams, from 96 to 80, and cutting the number of professional clubs from 64 to 48. Every platform will feel the pinch from MLS, USL, and every lower-division hopeful trying to squeeze into the country’s oldest competition.
MLS had already signaled major adjustments back in January. Only 16 US-based MLS teams will take part, with clubs not involved in the CONCACAF Champions Cup or Leagues Cup earning automatic entry, and the rest chosen by Supporters’ Shield standings. All 16 will join in the Third Round, the Round of 32, with half seeded as home teams. The league gets later entry and fewer dates, a necessity when nearly the entire competition calendar is being rewritten to accommodate the World Cup.
The United Soccer League hasn’t escaped the squeeze either. The USL Championship can only enter 17 teams, chosen strictly by league standings, while USL League One and MLS NEXT Pro will do the same at their level. A new wrinkle complicates things further: expansion teams are barred from competing unless they played a league season in 2025. That knocks several lower-division newcomers out and leaves only 15 eligible Division III sides, forcing the Championship to add an extra team to restore balance.
David Applegate, US Soccer’s Director of Competitions, said: “The reduction in professional teams was directly tied to the need for the competition to run seven rounds to fit within the footprint of the professional league schedules while avoiding conflict with the World Cup when both players and some venues will not be available.”
Two rule changes will outlast 2026. The first is the new “one club-one entry” policy, meaning reserve teams are out and only each club’s top-division side can compete. The second is the removal of roster number limits, allowing any eligible, registered player to take part as long as league rules and cup-tying regulations are met.
The tournament will pause entirely during the World Cup, reaching the semi-finals by late May before resuming in September. The final is set for October 21.
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