The United States must create big moments at World Cup 2026. Anything less is not enough | USA

CChristian Pulisic vividly remembers watching it with his family. So did Tyler Adams, who saw it with his friends from football camp. Memories of Tim Howard catching an Algerian header in Pretoria and launching it upfield to spark the counter-attack that would lead to Landon Donovan’s instantly iconic goal. A goal that spared the United States men’s national team at the 2010 World Cup, eliminating them from the group stage at the expense of Algeria. One of the most iconic moments in American football history.

Pulisic was a few months away from turning 12. Adams had just turned 10 years old. Matt Turner would turn 16 the next day, and Howard’s exploits made him question whether he should fully dedicate himself to becoming a goalie.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Pulisic, Adams and Turner were the USMNT’s star player, captain and starting goalkeeper, respectively.

World Cups drag on for weeks. The group stage already felt like an endless chore when there were 32 teams participating. With a field of 48 players in 2026, the first round alone will span 72 matches – more than the entire last edition of the tournament combined – over 17 days in June. The knockout rounds also continue, with only the off days breaking the spell. This time, it will take another 21 days to bring the last 32 down to one champion.

This wall-to-wall football can only be remembered by the biggest moments. By bursts of action when a country stops breathing for a few beats and entire four-year cycles are defined. The trick is to create these memories, one way or another, for your nation and for future generations. So that the frustration dissipates, even briefly. In one shot. In a punch. In a backup. That’s the beauty of sport.

Next summer, the United States Men’s National Team will have at least three opportunities to leave an indelible mark on the minds of future fans and potential future national team players. Friday’s farcical draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC assigned Mauricio Pochettino’s team to Australia, Paraguay and those of Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo – pending the play-offs.

The task, which begins against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on June 12, will be to deliver as many impressions as possible. For the United States, it’s not about winning the World Cup. Not realistic, anyway. It’s about leaving a legacy on a distracted nation, spoiled by indelible moments from other sports, on a culture consumed in fractions, flashes and 30-second clips.

In reality, the Americans should play more than three games. At least four. Probably five. Maybe six.

“At the last World Cup, we failed to set a bar or a standard for anything,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “We didn’t know what to expect. We hadn’t gone through the process. We didn’t know what it was going to look like. Now we’re a lot more mature. We’ve grown a lot as individuals and as a team. Everyone is going to want us to say winning is obviously the goal. But I think setting the benchmark for [going] the farthest the United States has gone is also realistic.

In the 1930 World Cup, the Americans reached the semifinals, which was also the first match of a four-team knockout round in the first edition of the World Cup, which bears little resemblance to today’s mega-event. The modern high point, which Adams was more likely referring to, was the quarterfinal push in 2002. That tournament, in which the United States beat Mexico in Korea in the round of 16, was the only time the Yankees won a World Cup knockout match in seven attempts.

But while the historical record isn’t great, there have never been 32 teams in the second round of this tournament before either. The chances of facing someone beatable are better.

“No matter which round we lose in, we won’t be happy,” said forward Christian Pulisic. “We’re going to push as hard as we can and try to have a good race.”

The good news is that the United States beat Australia and Paraguay in friendlies in October and November respectively, by identical scores of 2-1. And according to FIFA’s flattering ranking, the USMNT’s 14th place is by far the highest in the group. Paraguay is 39th; Australia 26th. Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo are ranked 25th, 47th, 45th and 80th respectively. (Then again, Turkey simply eliminated the Americans in another friendly match in June, by a score of 2-1 which flattered the magnitude of the defeat.)

The problem is that, based on the more stagnant Elo ratings, the Americans’ 34th place finish would actually be the lowest in the group if Turkey were in last place. In summary, USA Group D has the second highest average Elo rating among participants in all 2026 World Cup groups.

The format is forgiving, however. By winning Group D, the United States will face a third-ranked opponent in the round of 16. Even finishing second isn’t a bad result, given that the Yankees would then face the runners-up in Group G, headlined by Belgium and populated by Egypt, Iran and New Zealand. Doable, surely, provided it wasn’t the Belgians, who eliminated the United States in overtime in the round of 16 in Brazil in 2014. A third-place finish would spell trouble, provided the Americans finished even in the top eight of 12 and avoided elimination: a date with a group winner, likely Germany, France or Portugal.

That is to say, between the momentum of the USMNT’s recent record, the assembled talent of an unprecedented generation and the advantages of being one of three home teams, there really is no excuse for the Americans not to play a fifth game in this World Cup. The round of 16. At least.

Pochettino, however, preached caution and respect for the opposition. “If you’re Argentinian, maybe you can watch what happens next [the group stage]”, said the head coach. “With the United States, the first match is the World Cup final. The second and third matches must also be the World Cup final.

And after that, the more World Cup finals you play in, the better your chances of someone remembering it.

• Leander Schaerlaeckens’ book about the United States men’s national soccer team, The Long Game, will be released in spring 2026. You can pre-order it here. He teaches at Marist University.