USMNT gets big welcome as World Cup base camp opens in Southern California

IRVINE, Calif. — The U.S. team’s countdown to the World Cup began two weeks ago on a Manhattan pier and moved to a new national training center carved into Georgia pines. It passed through Charlotte and Chicago for the last tuneup matches before pulling into a former military air base that’s been transformed into a sprawling municipal sports complex.

With their Monday arrival at Great Park — and a spirited greeting from some 5,500 sun-drenched fans who won a lottery to attend a workout — the Americans reached their final destination before beginning Group D play Friday against Paraguay 45 miles northwest at SoFi Stadium.

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Coach Mauricio Pochettino led the crowd in “USA” chants before the players conducted an hour-long session that was a bit more involved than a public session figured to be. (Nonetheless, no competitive secrets were revealed.)

The Argentine-born manager told the supporters he hopes the team “rewards your energy” when the 48-nation competition kicks off across the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The U.S. Soccer Federation visited 27 venues between Seattle and San Diego before choosing Irvine, team manager Sam Zapatka said. Initially, the team was planning to train on the UC Irvine campus — a location it has used in the past — but opted for Great Park, which also houses the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks’ training facility.

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The Americans will use three of the 24 soccer fields, including a tidy stadium where USL Championship’s Orange County SC plays its second-division matches.

The delegation is staying at a seaside resort, the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel, which, with police escort, involves a 30-minute bus ride to the training site.

The county of more than 3 million will serve as the team’s home for the next several weeks, with almost daily workouts before the opener and between matches. The U.S. will fly to Seattle less than 48 hours before the second game, vs. Australia on June 19, then resume sessions at Great Park ahead of the June 25 finale against Türkiye at SoFi Stadium.

“Pulling up here with 5,500 fans ready to watch a training session is incredible,” captain Tim Ream said. “It’s been a long two weeks, a hard two weeks, but guys are in a great position, mentally, physically, emotionally and ready to get going.”

Great Park opened in 2007 on the site of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, which was decommissioned in 1999 after 56 years of training pilots and other military operations. From above, portions of the runways are still visible. President Richard Nixon flew in and out of here when visiting the western White House in nearby San Clemente.

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Now known for recreation and not an infamous resignation, the 194-acre park includes baseball and soccer fields, as well as basketball, tennis and volleyball courts. There is a 10,000-capacity amphitheater, a carousel and a balloon that, for $10, takes riders 400 feet up. (For the U.S. stay, it’s been decorated with the U.S. crest and, to avoid spying, is closed.)

Set up in base camps all over the U.S., Mexico and Canada, every World Cup team is required to conduct one public event at some point during their stay. The remainder of the U.S. sessions will be closed to the public and, except for 15-minute glimpses during stretching sessions and light exercises, will also be off-limits to reporters.

The USSF erected tents with exercise equipment and one on the stadium concourse for players’ treatment and post-training recovery. It also set up a tent for up to 270 media members.

“You want to feel like you have a good home base, a place you [don’t] have to worry about all the little details off the field,” Ream said. “Everything’s been taken care of for us. We’re very, very much spoiled in that way as players, and that allows us to focus on everything that we need to.”

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The final run-up to the World Cup began May 26, when Pochettino named his 26-man squad at a public event in New York. Before and after a 3-2 victory over Senegal in Charlotte, he conducted workouts at the national training center that opened last month 12 miles south of Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The send-off match was Saturday at sold-out Soldier Field in Chicago, a 2-1 loss to Germany.

Chris Richards returns to full training after ankle injury

The health and welfare of center back Chris Richards is paramount to U.S. preparations. Hobbled by an ankle injury, he missed the friendlies against Senegal and Germany and hasn’t played since May 17 with the Premier League’s Crystal Palace.

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After rehabbing and training on his own for two weeks, Richards joined a full World Cup session for the first time Monday. He did not show any signs of the injury, though the team wasn’t engaged in the most rigorous session either. Nevertheless, it was a promising sign that he’ll be available, and perhaps start, against Paraguay.

Midfielder Tyler Adams did not train for load management reasons, a team spokesman said.

As for the players performing in front of an audience that included many young fans, the opportunity to make an impact in this World Cup was not lost on them.

“It means so much to be able to be in a position to inspire the next generation, and there’s a compounding effect to it,” goalkeeper Matt Freese said. “Obviously, we were inspired by the previous generation. Hopefully, we inspire the next generation. The more we inspire them, the better the following generation will be.”