Four US high schools host World Cup teams

The 2026 World Cup begins June 11 with teams competing in host cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and four teams selected high schools in the U.S. as their training hub leading into the event, according to a USA Today report.

Croatia

The Croatian national team selected Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, one of Virginia’s premier high school soccer facilities, according to USA Today. Episcopal’s boys soccer team has won four state championships and plays at Humphrey Family Field. To accommodate the Croatian national team, the school added 40- to 100-foot athletic field lights to meet FIFA training guidelines.

Morocco

The Moroccan national team, the highest-rated team from Africa, according to FIFA, is practicing at the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. According to USA Today, the Pingry School is one of New Jersey’s most dominant high school athletic programs, having won more than 90 combined state championships, including multiple soccer titles.

Pingry currently plays at Miller A. Bugliari ’52 World Cup Field and recently completed construction on a second full-sized World Cup practice field.

Spain

The Spanish national team selected the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The school is located in downtown Chattanooga and has won 293 team state championships across 28 sports — the most in state history, USA Today reports.

The Baylor School soccer complex features two natural grass fields and one synthetic turf field, and the school’s boys and girls soccer teams have won a combined 21 state championships.

Switzerland

The Swiss national team chose the San Diego Jewish Academy as its training site. The San Diego Jewish Academy spans 56 acres and, according to USA Today, features some of California’s best high school athletic facilities.

The report says that to prepare for the Spanish national team’s arrival, the school shut down the soccer field for a month as well as built a new performance gym tent, new dressing rooms and a medical facility.