Thirty-two years on from Alexi Lalas, Diana Ross and that Maradona celebration, the World Cup is returning to North America. A lot has changed since then—and not just the hairstyles.
In 1994, two years before the first MLS game had even taken place, soccer was something of a niche sport in the United States. Now, the USMNT is made up of established stars plying their trade at the likes of AC Milan, Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen.
At the helm, they have one of the most well-respected head coaches in the world, a man who has won a league title in France and taken a team to the Champions League final.
But who is he? What players can he call on? And can his team progress beyond the quarterfinals for the first time in 96 years?
Here’s everything you need to know about the USMNT.
How did they do at Qatar 2022?
Gregg Berhalter’s inexperienced team—the second-youngest World Cup roster in USMNT history—put far more emphasis on defensive stability. The result? A solid but mostly unexciting run in Qatar four years ago.
The US conceded just one goal in the group stage: a late penalty from Gareth Bale to snatch a 1-1 draw for Wales in the opening game after Timothy Weah had opened the scoring. The problem was that Berhalter’s side only managed two themselves—the other a close-range finish from Pulisic against Iran in game three to send his team to the knockout stages.
Their best performance of the tournament actually came in between those games, when they held England to a 0-0 draw. But it was hardly an inspirational run, and the US were undone in the round of 16 when they were comfortably beaten 3-1 by the Netherlands.
Who is Mauricio Pochettino?
When Mauricio Pochettino was named as the USMNT head coach in 2024, the overwhelming reaction across the soccer world was “How did they get him?” The answer, if reports are to be believed, has a fair bit to do with the salary he is on. But make no mistake: Pochettino is earning elite-level money because he is an elite-level coach.
After impressing at Espanyol and Southampton, the former Argentina international took charge at Tottenham and oversaw the club’s most successful era since the 1980s. Much of that was built on Harry Kane, who most saw as a fairly average youth player but Pochettino helped to turn into one of the best strikers in the world.
The Argentinian had the Spurs challenging for the Premier League in his second season, and took them to their first-ever Champions League final in 2019.
While things eventually tailed off at Tottenham and his spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea were less successful, Pochettino is arguably only behind Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel in terms of high-profile managers at the World Cup this summer.
What is their style of play?
Under Pochettino, the USMNT have tended to play a 3-4-3 formation, with a heavy emphasis on combination play on the wings. Wing-backs Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest have license to get forward whenever possible, as evidenced when Dest got on the end of Christian Pulisic’s cross to open the scoring in the recent win over Senegal.
As Dest pushes forward, center-back Alex Freeman—son of former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman—moves out to the right to cover the PSV man, allowing him to contribute consistently going forward. Indeed, this is a team that tries to play to its attacking strengths, with quick counter-attacks and lots of positional interchange.
The main question marks are at the back. Chris Richards and Tim Ream are very capable defenders but have sometimes struggled when trying to progress the ball. Playing as underdogs—which the US will have to do if they reach the knockout stages—may suit them, as they won’t have to face a low block. But the better teams will likely also try to press them into mistakes, which may well yield some results.
Who is their best player?
After failing to qualify in 2018 and sending a young side to Qatar in 2022 (more on that later), we can now say for the first time in a while that there are a number of successful, established players to choose from. Chris Richards and Tyler Adams have both played crucial roles in overachieving Premier League sides this season, while Christian Pulisic was electric in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Senegal as he broke a five-month goal drought.
But, in Weston McKennie, the USMNT have a player who is putting up the best numbers of his career at exactly the right time. The Juventus midfielder hit double figures for combined goals and assists in Serie A this season for the first time, adding four more goals in 10 Champions League appearances.
Even more remarkably, he has done that while being asked to play pretty much every position on the field, from wing-back to second striker. His late runs into the box can cause havoc for defenses—expect to see plenty of that over the next few weeks.
Do they have a difficult group?
Last December’s World Cup draw was one of the more bizarre spectacles in the sport’s recent memory, with everyone from Kevin Hart to Wayne Gretzky to President Donald Trump making an appearance. But one definite positive USMNT fans could take was the draw itself, which matched the team up against Turkey, Australia and Paraguay.
Turkey are my favorites to top the group. Vincenzo Montella’s side have won six of their last seven, with the other an impressive draw against Spain. McKennie’s Juventus teammate Kenan Yıldız and Real Madrid’s Arda Güler are the players to watch, but even then, Turkey are hardly European royalty – this will be their first World Cup since 2002.
Australia, meanwhile, are a bit like the USMNT of four years ago: strong at the back but unable to offer much going forward. Nestory Irankunda and Jordan Bos are exciting young players, and Cristian Volpato is an interesting wildcard option having switched allegiances from Italy to Australia at the 11th hour, but there shouldn’t be too much to concern Pochettino.
Paraguay play a similarly defensive game, with a bit more of an emphasis on long balls and crosses. Diego Gómez and Julio Enciso are a handful, but the US really should win their opening game.
Who might they play in the knockout stages?
Counting no chickens, second place is probably the most likely spot, which could see Pochettino’s side face Egypt. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush are forces to be reckoned with, but the US could well start the game as favorites. A win in that match would most likely pit the US against Switzerland in the round of 16, while Argentina or Portugal could lie beyond them in the quarterfinals.
Ironically, if the US finish top of Group D, they might actually face a sterner test in the following round, where they would face one of the eight best third-place teams. For my money, that could be any of Sweden, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Algeria or even Canada. After that, they would likely face Belgium and then probably Spain.
Pochettino’s side could also progress with a positive third-place finish, but you’d need a PhD in theoretical physics from MIT to figure out who that would pair them up with.
