The World Cup is 1 year away. What is the state of American soccer?

In 1994 the United States hosted the World Cup for the first time.

“And there were no expectations. Not a lot of people knew exactly what the World Cup was about, but they were curious. That's why every game was sold out. And that was an introduction to international soccer here in the United States,” says Marcelo Balboa, a two-time All-American at San Diego State and former USMNT captain who played in three World Cups.

Prior to that year there had been 14 World Cup tournaments and the U.S. had only qualified for four of them.

In 2026 the world’s most prestigious soccer tournament returns, and this time around The Beautiful Game is much more than a mere curiosity. The U.S. has its own first division in Major League Soccer. Games from the Premiere League can be streamed any time on Peacock.

Americans are exponentially more knowledgeable about soccer than they were 32 years ago, and that’s made the expectation level for performing well on home soil go through the roof.

“This could change the landscape that we've set up over the last 20 years, 30 years, since the last World Cup and take it to that, possibly that next level,” says Balboa. “So, that's why it's important for this team to make sure they do something special. A quarterfinal, a semifinal. The worst thing that could happen is this team doesn't make it out of the group. That'd be the biggest failure for us.”

That means overcoming decades of mediocrity. Over the last 90 years Team USA has only reached the quarterfinals once, in 2002. That’s the same number of tourneys where they’ve finished dead last (in 1998).

“We need to do something at a high level that people will look and see that we are serious about what we're doing, that we're here and it's a sport that we take very, very seriously,” says Balboa.

Now, United States soccer has gotten much better in recent years as the talent level has increased dramatically. More Americans are playing in top international leagues than ever before, most notably Christian Pulisic, who’s made a name for himself in both England and Italy.

The problem is, the USA is not the only nation that’s getting better.

“If you pick a point and say we want to be at that level, the football landscape changes, too,” says international soccer analyst Keith Costigan, who does play-by-play announcing for World Cup games. “So, you can make strides and still be just as far off as you began because everyone else is taking steps as well.”

Recent international results are not encouraging, with three straight losses heading into this month’s Gold Cup competition. USA Soccer recently hired Mauricio Pochettino, a veteran who’s led some of Europe’s most storied franchises, to remake the roster. The rest of the soccer planet is paying very close attention to his progress.

“I don't think teams overlook the US. I will say that there's a respect for the US Men's National Team in world football,” says Costigan.

Pochettino’s most important task will be clearly identifying his team’s identity. Will they be the blue-collar backyard brawlers? Or try to match clubs skill for skill? Perhaps the answer is both.

“Maybe in the past you could kind of rely upon that kind of underdog mentality of like, we're going to outwork you. Maybe we've lost a little bit of that as well. We're a little bit better, but we're trying to beat these teams at their game rather than having a little bit of our backs against the wall mentality,” says Costigan. “So, finding that balance might be able to get us over the line in some of those games.”

The USA has historically been pretty good on its home turf. Back in 1994 they went to the Round of 16 and nearly knocked off Brazil, falling to the eventual champions 1-0. If they figure out the right mix at the right time in 2026?

“Why not dream? Why not dream on lifting a World Cup?” says Costigan.

Why not, indeed. The World Cup starts on June 11, 2026, in 11 US cities as well as two in Canada and two in Mexico.