SEATTLE — The U.S. men’s national soccer team positioned barriers on a small hill at its World Cup training facility Saturday in an apparent attempt to ensure that no one could spy on the team’s preparations for a round-of-16 showdown with Belgium.It’s unclear if there is any specific suspicion that Belgium or anyone else was attempting to spy on the team’s training session.But USMNT staff realized that, on elevated ground to the west of Husky Soccer Stadium, where the team is training while in Seattle, there are tall buildings with views of the field.From McMahon Hall, an undergraduate dormitory on the University of Washington’s campus, for example, if standing on a top-floor balcony or at a window, you can see the entire pitch, according to photos posted on the university’s website.Those specific balconies are currently closed, and some buildings might be closed for the summer, but there are multiple tall buildings on campus, and perhaps others near it, that potentially offer views of the field.
USMNT training in Seattle… and protecting against espionage pic.twitter.com/1yLRd3N267
— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) July 4, 2026The barriers set up Wednesday likely wouldn’t block all of those views, but they were seemingly stationed strategically to fill gaps in the trees on the west end of the field.
