The US Men’s National Team has never faced a penalty shootout in World Cup play. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino says that changes nothing about how seriously his squad is preparing for the possibility in 2026.

The 2026 World Cup, hosted on American soil, has become the most crypto-entangled sporting event in history, with Kraken stepping in as the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter and prediction markets logging an estimated $5.4 billion in trading volume.

Pochettino’s penalty plan and the Gold Cup breakthrough

The USMNT’s penalty preparation has a foundation that didn’t exist a year ago. On June 3, 2025, the team secured its first-ever penalty shootout victory, beating Costa Rica in the Gold Cup quarterfinals. Pochettino has called that experience “priceless” for building the kind of composure that knockout-stage World Cup matches demand.

The team’s 2026 campaign has been strong so far. A 4-1 group-stage victory over Paraguay helped the USMNT win its group outright, setting up what could be a deep knockout run.

Kraken, fan tokens, and the crypto World Cup

Kraken was named the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 9, 2026, marking one of the most significant crypto-sports partnerships to date.

Prediction markets have been the clearest beneficiary of this crypto-football convergence. Trading volume across World Cup-related prediction markets has reached an estimated $5.4 billion during the tournament.

The missing USMNT fan token

One conspicuous absence in this landscape is the USMNT itself. As of late June 2026, the team has no official cryptocurrency sponsorship or fan token. That puts it behind a growing list of European clubs and national teams that have embraced tokenized fan engagement.

Fan tokens give holders voting rights on minor team decisions and access to exclusive content or experiences. They’ve become a meaningful revenue stream for clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona, and Juventus through platforms like Socios.

The void hasn’t gone unnoticed by opportunists: unofficial Solana-based tokens branded around the USMNT have popped up, though they carry significant risk given their complete lack of official endorsement or backing from US Soccer.

What this means for crypto investors

Prediction market volume at $5.4 billion demonstrates that crypto-native betting infrastructure can operate at massive scale during global events. Platforms facilitating these markets, particularly those built on Ethereum and Polygon, stand to benefit from sustained user attention throughout the knockout stages.

Kraken’s official sponsorship role validates the exchange model of using major sports partnerships for user acquisition. If Kraken reports meaningful signup growth tied to the World Cup, expect competing exchanges to pursue similar deals with other major sporting properties.

The risk for traders is straightforward: World Cup-driven volume is inherently temporary. Prediction markets will cool once the final whistle blows in mid-July, and any tokens or platforms riding the tournament’s coattails will need to demonstrate staying power beyond the event itself.