ATLANTA (August 28, 2025) – Continuing in its mission to celebrate soccer in all of its forms, U.S. Soccer has announced the U.S. Men’s Deaf National Team will face Germany, presented by Volkswagen, in the first game of a doubleheader with the U.S. Women’s National Team on October 26, 2025, at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. Adding to the occasion, the 2024 Deaf PanAmerican Games bronze medalists’ match against Germany will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. ET on truTV and HBO Max, marking the first time a U.S. Men’s Deaf National Team match will be shown on television in a U.S. Soccer-controlled match.
This is the second time the USWNT has partnered with a Deaf National Team for a doubleheader. The first was the U.S. Women’s Deaf National Team’s 11-0 victory against Australia on June 1, 2024, in Commerce City, Colorado, ahead of the U.S. Women taking on Korea Republic later that afternoon. That historic match was also presented by Volkswagen, a Presenting Partner of U.S. Soccer since 2019, and shown live on truTV and HBO Max, with the Federation’s broadcast partners making it accessible to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community by featuring American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters on screen throughout the broadcast, a practice which will continue for the Deaf MNT match on Oct. 26.
The USA’s upcoming clash with Germany reflects U.S. Soccer’s commitment to the U.S. Way, which prioritizes strategic investment in resources, infrastructure and holistic support for the Federation's Extended National Teams – including the Deaf National Teams – to ensure they are equipped to compete and succeed at the highest levels of international play.
“This doubleheader is excellent preparation for our Men’s Deaf National Team as they gear up for the Deaflympics in November,” said Stuart Sharp, U.S. Soccer’s Head of Extended National Teams. “It also provides us with a great opportunity to showcase Deaf soccer on home soil to the broader U.S. Soccer community. Events like these provide clear and tangible examples of how U.S. Soccer lives its ideals to inspire success, create pathways, and ensure access to the game for everyone.”
“At its heart, soccer is for everyone,” said Rachael Zaluzec, Senior Vice President, Customer Experience and Brand Marketing at Volkswagen of America, Inc. “We’re proud to champion the talented athletes and teams of the diverse U.S. Soccer National Teams, across every format of play, so they’re seen and celebrated on the pitch.”
Following USA–Germany, the four-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist USWNT will take on Portugal at 4 p.m. ET (TNT, truTV, Universo, HBO Max Peacock). Fans with tickets to USA–Portugal will be able to attend both matches, with gates opening at 12:30 p.m. ET. Limited tickets remain for this historic doubleheader and can be purchased via ussoccer.com/tickets. Parking for the doubleheader is FREE.
The U.S. Men’s Deaf National Team officially joined U.S. Soccer’s Extended National Team program in 2022, after years of activity as a member organization national team. The last time the Deaf MNT played was in last November’s 2024 Deaf Pan American Games in Canoas, Brazil, where the team defeated Mexico 4-0 to earn the bronze medal and qualify for the upcoming 2025 Deaflympics and 2027 World Deaf Football Championships. Set to train in East Hartford the week leading up to the match, this will be the Deaf MNT’s fourth camp of 2025 as the team continues preparation for the 2025 Deaflympics to be held Nov. 15-26 in Tokyo where it will face Ukraine and Senegal in Group D.
About Deaf Soccer
Out of the five disciplines that make up U.S. Soccer’s ENT programming, Deaf Soccer holds the closest resemblance to the standard game, with only two main rules that differentiate it. First, the sport is contested by Deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes, with qualifying players needing to have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in their “better ear.” All players competing in Deaf matches must remove all hearing aids before playing.
Secondly, referees have a flag which they raise along with blowing their whistle to provide a visual cue for players to know when play has stopped. Aside from those two adaptations, Deaf Soccer follows the standard 11-a-side Laws of the Game governed by the International Football Association Board.
About the U.S. Way
The U.S. Way is a shared philosophy, a strategy and a practical toolkit to enable excellence at every level of the game and for us to win. The U.S. Way is intended to work in partnership between the club and National Team environment to cultivate the next generation of talent with three areas of focus: World Class Development Pathways and Environments, including scaled Talent Identification, expanded Youth National Team programming and accelerated development and foundation building across the Extended National Teams; Shared and Scaled Infrastructure, highlighted by the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, U.S. Way digital platform and unified youth calendar;and Professional Development for the Entire Ecosystem, featuring formal courses, technical and administrative staff community building, leadership development, and best practice resource sharing. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision/us-way.
