The USA hosts the World Cup again 32 years later. American football is no longer the same
In 1994, the American national team opened a home World Cup with a dull goalless draw against Switzerland – and 15 of its players did not even have a professional contract. Today, thirteen of the 26 called up play in the five best leagues in Europe. The gap between those two moments is the story of a structural transformation that few federations have managed to replicate.
From clubless fields to European football
The 1994 World Cup was hosted in the United States at a time when the country barely had the infrastructure to support its own players. Alan Rothenberg, federation president between 1990 and 1998, was blunt: “Our players could not find work outside the country, so we created a 16-month residency camp in Mission Viejo to prepare them.” That was what existed. There was no high-level national league, no training centre, no structured youth academy.
The scenario turned upside down. MLS was founded in 1996, two years later, and today it is among the most valuable leagues in the world, according to Forbes data. More importantly: the league’s academies developed much of the current generation, including Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Giovanni Reyna, all produced by the MLS system before migrating to Europe.
Top-class infrastructure and an identity under construction
In 2026, the federation inaugurated the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, near Atlanta. The investment reaches almost 200 million dollars. It is the permanent base of the national teams – something powers like France and Spain had decades ago. For Rothenberg, the change goes beyond brick: “Our players always come back to the same place. Even when they are scattered around the world, they know each other, they play together. This will create an American style.”
The current tournament already shows signs that the bet makes sense. The USMNT’s debut in this World Cup – a 4-1 rout of Paraguay – was watched by more than 18 million people and became the most broadcast match.
Getting out of the group stage is no longer a surprise. In recent editions, the team has already shown the consistency to do it. The problem is another. Without an iconic moment – something comparable to Landon Donovan’s last-minute goal against Algeria in 2010, or Tim Howard’s 16 saves against Belgium in 2014 – it is hard to capture the imagination of the fan who does not follow football all year round.
Mauricio Pochettino’s challenge is exactly that: to deliver a scene that gets replayed on social media for years. Beating a heavyweight team in the round of 16, or at least producing a memorable match, could be the watershed. The squad has the technical quality for it. The moment is missing. And the home World Cup is probably the best window of the generation to create it.
