San Francisco Frontiers - US 'golden generation' raises World Cup hosts' expectations

The global superpower may historically be a footballing minnow, but soccer has boomed since the US last hosted in 1994, and the co-hosts are no longer merely making up the numbers.

Young Americans now spearhead some of Europe's top clubs, from Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie at Serie A giants AC Milan and Juventus, to captain Tyler Adams at the Premier League's high-flying Bournemouth.

"I am here because I believe that we can win," said Pochettino, the Argentine manager who took over the co-hosts' side in late 2024.

"Why not us? Why not us? Why not us? We need to really believe that we can be there," said the former Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach, this spring.

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

For one thing, the US -- 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.

Though Pochettino's men defeated Uruguay and Paraguay last year, those statement wins were followed in March by a 5-2 thrashing against Belgium and a lop-sided 2-0 loss to Portugal, exposing long-standing frailties against the world's elite.

Worries over star forward Pulisic's form in Milan have also dampened the optimism about a deep American run. Pulisic has not scored since December, and is no longer an automatic starter.

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

Still, the US took the tournament's second-youngest squad to the last World Cup in Qatar, where they did creditably to reach the last 16, falling to the Netherlands.

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

- Homegrown talents -

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

The final roster, announced later this month, will be drawn from three distinct groups.

Pulisic, McKennie and Weah are the brightest home-grown talents who have thrived at Champions League clubs.

McKennie, in particular, has become so vital running Juventus's midfield that Pochettino recently joked the Serie A club is "Weston McKennie plus 10 players."

Then there is a group of diaspora Americans, like British-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-national threats include fullbacks Sergino Dest and Antonee Robinson -- born in the Netherlands and England, respectively -- and German-born Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Malik Tillman.

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

- 'Dreams inspire reality' -

Bigger picture, the rapid progress of American soccer is indisputable.

The USMNT did not even qualify for a World Cup for four decades until 1990, but it has only missed one since, regularly progressing beyond the group stage.

Its best achievement of the modern era came in 2002, when Bruce Arena's men eliminated Portugal in the group stage, beat Mexico in the knockouts, before falling in the quarter-finals to Germany.

Making the final eight again likely serves as the baseline for the 2026 campaign to be considered a success.

Beyond that? "We need to dream... Dreams inspire reality," said Pochettino.

F.Garcia--SFF