US ‘golden generation’ raises World Cup co-hosts’ expectations

LOS ANGELES – With home advantage, a forgiving group-stage draw and a talented roster widely dubbed the “golden generation” of the United States, coach Mauricio Pochettino is daring fans to ask: “Why not us?”

They may historically be footballing minnows, but “soccer” has boomed since the US last hosted the World Cup in 1994 and the 2026 co-hosts are no longer merely making up the numbers.

Americans now spearhead some of Europe’s top clubs, from AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie of Juventus in Serie A to national team captain Tyler Adams at English Premier League side Bournemouth.

“I am here because I believe that we can win,” said Pochettino, the Argentinian who took charge of the US team in September 2024.

“Why not us? Why not us? Why not us? We need to really believe that we can be there.”

Of course, nobody is talking about the US in the same breath as favourites like France, Spain and Argentina.

For one thing, Pochettino’s men – who face Paraguay, Australia and Turkey in Group D – would surely need to beat top European or South American opposition to progress deep into the tournament.

Although the US defeated Paraguay (2-1) and Uruguay (5-1) in friendlies in November 2025, those statement wins were followed in March by a 5-2 loss to Belgium and a 2-0 defeat by Portugal, exposing longstanding frailties against the world’s elite.

Worries over star attacker Pulisic’s form have also dampened the optimism about a deep American run. The 27-year-old has not scored since December and is no longer a guaranteed starter.

Pochettino himself recently admitted that his roster features none of the world’s top 100 players – not exactly a pick-me-up for the Milan player’s ego.

Still, the US took their second-youngest World Cup squad to the 2022 edition in Qatar, where they did well enough to reach the last 16.

And the 2026 co-hosts will aim to go further on home soil, knowing the likes of Marseille winger Timothy Weah have gone from strength to strength since 2022.

Pochettino has experimented with an ever-changing squad and fluctuating formations in recent games.

The final roster, set to be announced later in May, will be drawn from three distinct groups.

Pulisic, McKennie and Weah are the brightest home-grown talent who have thrived at Champions League clubs. The Juventus midfielder, in particular, has become so vital for his club that Pochettino recently joked that the Serie A giants are “Weston McKennie plus 10 players”.

Then there is a group of diaspora Americans like London-raised striker Folarin Balogun, who is likely to lead the US line this summer off the back of a hot scoring streak at Ligue 1’s Monaco.

Other dual-nationality threats include full-backs such as PSV Eindhoven’s Dutch-born Sergino Dest and Fulham’s Antonee Robinson who was born in Britain, as well as German-born Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Malik Tillman.

Finally, the squad will draw on a handful of Major League Soccer stars, like Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna, in what is sure to be a telling test of the strength of the booming US domestic league.

Looking at the bigger picture, the Americans’ rapid progress in football is indisputable.

After the 1950 World Cup, the US men’s team failed to make an appearance at the tournament for four decades until 1990, but they have missed only one edition since.

Their best achievement of the modern era came in 2002, when Bruce Arena’s men pipped Portugal for second place in their group, beat Mexico in the last 16, before falling in the quarter-finals to eventual runners-up Germany.

Making the final eight again likely serves as the baseline for the June 11-July 19 campaign to be considered a success.

Beyond that?

“We need to dream... Dreams inspire reality,” said Pochettino.

In other World Cup news, Dick Advocaat has returned to serve as the head coach of Curacao months after stepping down.

The Dutchman, who at 78 will become the oldest coach in World Cup history, resigned in February for family matters.

But with his daughter’s health reportedly improving, he has decided to come back and lead the Caribbean island’s squad in their tournament debut.

Curacao, with a population of just over 150,000, is the smallest nation to qualify for football’s global showpiece.

Advocaat replaces Fred Rutten, who stepped down to enable his fellow Dutchman’s comeback. Rutten led them for two friendly matches in March, losing to China (2-0) and Australia (5-1).

Curacao play their first World Cup match on June 14 against Germany in Group E before facing Ecuador (June 20) and Ivory Coast (June 25). AFP, REUTERS