While coaching at UCLA, Schmid began to work with the U.S. national team. He was the assistant coach at the 1991 World University Games and traveled with the team to Germany in the fall of 1992. In January 1993, he was selected as an assistant to Bora Milutinović for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, during which five of Schmid's UCLA players appeared for the national team. He continued as an assistant during the 1995 Pan American Games. After being appointed U.S. Under-20 national team coach in January 1998, Schmid built his squad around defensive tactics. The team achieved second place in their group during the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, defeating England and Cameroon, but were eliminated by the eventual champions Spain in the opening knockout round. Schmid returned to coach the U-20 national team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. The U.S. won the group in the opening stage of the tournament without conceding a goal, but lost to Italy in the first round of the knockout stage. One of the forwards on the national team, Eric Wynalda, said that Schmid's organization on the field was disciplined. Wynalda commented that Schmid had a "great handle on the defensive side of the game" while he also admired that the strikers were allowed to be creative. Schmid was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 2004 after working with UCLA, the national team, and the Los Angeles Galaxy.