PRIYA COOPER / SPORTS EDITOR

MAXIMILIANO ACOSTA  / ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

This summer, Torero Stadium will be home to more than USD athletes. The field will also serve as the  New  Zealand Men’s National Football Team home base, for their play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This summer’s World Cup will be hosted by North America and games will be played throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. The World Cup officially begins on June 11 with the opening match in Mexico City. The match will conclude with the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. 

Elijah Just, 25 year old winger for the New Zealand’s All Whites. Photo courtesy of @nzallwhites/Instagram

National football teams from all over the world are choosing various college campuses across the country to be their home base for the tournament because of their quality training facilities and proximity to major cities.

New Zealand will be based in San Diego for the month-long tournament, training at Torero Stadium and staying at a nearby hotel. Like the other teams in the competition, New Zealand will remain in one host city and travel only when necessary for group stage and knockout matches. The team’s World Cup journey will begin in Los Angeles on June 16,  where they will face the Iran national football team. 

In terms of Iran’s standing in the  World  Cup, it  is  still  undecided.  Mehdi  Taj spoke about this in an Iranian public television broadcast on March 1. 

“What is certain is that after this  attack,  we  cannot  be   expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Taj said. “It is unlikely that we can look forward to the World Cup, but the sports chiefs are the ones who must decide on that.”

In addition to New Zealand, San Diego will also be hosting Switzerland. Switzerland will be training at the San Diego Jewish Academy in La Jolla. 

USD junior Matt Andre highlighted his thoughts about why New Zealand might’ve selected   USD    to  be  their  host   field.

“I remember Brazil practiced a few years ago and it’s great to have another professional team like New Zealand,” Andre mentioned. “I understand though, the weather here is great, the field is in good condition so there will be less injury risk, and it probably gives the players the same environment like they  would  in Inglewood. All they have  to  do  is  take  the  I-5 freeway.” 

There are 40 teams competing in total in the 39-day world phenomena. The teams are broken into 12 groups, each with four teams or four different countries. New Zealand is a part of Group G along with Belgium, Egypt and Iran. The U.S. is playing in Group D with Paraguay, Australia and one more team that is still to be determined. 

USD senior and club soccer player  Diego Reyes commented on his feelings about Torero Stadium hosting a World Cup qualifier. 

“It makes me feel good to be a USD student,”  Reyes said. “I feel very privileged to be able to play club soccer for USD. I hope to help the program succeed and enjoy our time together throughout our seasons and I think it’s really cool that New Zealand is coming to USD. I also think it will definitely bring more attention to the school.”

Reyes also added that he hopes to be able to watch some of the practices if given the opportunity. 

“If I’m still on campus I’ll definitely come out and watch them train,” Reyes said. “I don’t know too much about New Zealand, just that one goal they scored against the Netherlands back in 2014.”

For many students, the chance to see an international team visit campus is both unexpected and exciting. USD sophomore Pedro Santiago Estrada claimed the selection of their school as a host site feels special, especially considering the number of other locations that could have been chosen.

“That’s pretty sick, out of all the schools they could’ve picked, they picked us,” Estrada said. “As for the field, most fields are kinda the same anyway, ours might be a little small, but it works and I think it will be good enough for them. New Zealand doesn’t get a lot of representation, so it’s cool they’re coming here. I don’t really know any of the players, but it kinda reminds me of when the LA Chargers came, it was already booked so I couldn’t go at the time, but now it makes me wanna show up since I’m from San Diego. Hopefully I get the chance to go and support since I’m not too far.”

While some students were surprised  by USD  being selected, others reflected on what the opportunity means for the  broader campus  community. 

USD senior Shreyans Jyoti shared his thoughts on the campus acting as a world cup team’s home base. 

“Wow, I had no idea this was happening and I feel like it’s going to get a lot of students all around the country more interested in soccer,” Jyoti said. “I am from Nepal and soccer is a much bigger deal in the rest of the world but not so much in America. I will definitely be watching this year and keep an eye out for New Zealand. This is also just such a unique opportunity that a lot of students across colleges all over the country don’t get to experience, so it’s pretty cool.”

USD sophomore Luke White shared his perspective on USD’s stadium and what it means to him as a student.

“I personally don’t follow the World Cup and the teams,but the idea that a pro team would want to have our school to be our home base is really awesome,” White said. “We have been killing it in college soccer so I think our field and  set up is up to date, I mean the grass is always well maintained. If people think it’s not then I don’t know what is. I’m pretty sure I saw workers painting or adding new things when I went to walk past the stadium so I am excited to see what it will look like before we head to summer.”

With the tournament drawing global attention this summer, USD will briefly become part of the  world’s biggest sporting event.

Torero Stadium is the pitch the New Zealand national team will train on. Photo courtesy of @uofsandiego/Instagram