With the U.S. set to simultaneously host the Club World Cup and Gold Cup, this summer will spark the beautiful game in North America
After a few weeks of grumpy comments and bumpy news cycles, a throwaway comment from Mauricio Pochettino suggested that the good vibes might be back for American soccer.
This has been a strange period, in some ways. Christian Pulisic isn't playing for the USMNT in the Gold Cup, causing agita among former national team players. The Club World Cup has been a bit of a slow burn for attention in the U.S. But Pochettino, USMNT head coach, and de-facto chief representative of the men's game in the United States, gave a statement of hope.
"I think we need to be positive," he said, "because today I think only we can talk about football action, soccer action. The team showed great energy, great mentality, great attitude. And then it’s this type of game that maybe, if you make a mistake, you can lose. But you made a mistake because it’s soccer, it’s football. That is why I think I am so, so happy."
Context is everything here.
The USMNT, depleted of their starters and surrounded by some negativity over recent months, found a way to see the bright side in a 2-1 loss to Turkey over the weekend. Pochettino was talking about his team, but as Ironic as the circumstances may be, he actually nailed it.
Not just for the USMNT, but soccer in America over the next six weeks.
The loss wasn't good. Nor was the more decisive 4-0 loss to Switzerland on Tuesday, with a relatively inexperienced USMNT lineup. But this summer is more about trajectory than immediacy. The Gold Cup might frustrate USMNT die-hards. The Club World Cup will provide talking points on both sides of the positivity scale. The national team may win or it may fail. Big names might just excel in the showpiece club tournament.
But the next two months should be reason for excitement, a period in which the beautiful game will be super-sized for U.S. audiences in multiple formats – and might just set up the country for some seismic shifts in soccer for years to come.
"This is the golden era for American soccer," Apple TV+ analyst Kevin Egan recently told GOAL, "with the Club World Cup, the World Cup coming to the Women's World Cup few years down the line. Like, there's an awful lot here to ensure that it thrives."
Getty ImagesThe Club World Cup and fan appeal
The Club World Cup really should be a wonderful thing. Picture the scene: 32 of the world's best soccer teams, stacked with some of the world's best soccer players, brought here (mostly) by a statistical calculation of their own success over the past few years, playing in front of distinctly American crowds.
This is the dream, not only for American audiences but also the teams themselves. It is no secret that clubs and owners crave American interest, for both genuine fan credibility and all of the financial trimmings that come with it. Fans, too, have flocked to any semblance of European football in their native country.
European friendlies routinely sell out in the U.S.. The 2023 MLS All Star Game pitted Arsenal against MLS's best XI. Audi Field was packed with not only American soccer enthusiasts but also thousands of Gunners who otherwise would not have access to their favorite team. Those around the game are expecting no different this summer.
"I've been to a Clasico friendly here in the United States and it was fabulous," ESPN analyst Kay Murray told GOAL. "It was absolutely packed. And I have found that whenever I've gone to preseason games that I think there's not going to be too many people, the fans come out in force all the time. So yeah, they probably will come out for the Club World Cup. They surprise me every time, but American soccer fans are amazing and love the game."
There's no reason that a Club World Cup – where there's something to actually play for – will be any different.
Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesThe USMNT and the Gold Cup
And then there's the question of the USMNT. They're an increasingly difficult entity to figure out. Pochettino is clearly a good manager, and has picked up results. But a mixture of injuries and general controversy have made his first nine months in the job far from successful – he's just 5-5 in charge of a team that has lost four straight.
Still, this might just be a decent summer for the Argentine. Yes, former players are furious. There is currently a Landon Donovan band-for-band with Christian Pulisic's father that includes ChatGPT insults (there's a 2025 sentence).
Pochettino has a depleted squad. The USMNT were full of fight and zeal after the showing against Turkey. The youngsters held their own. The effort, something that has been called into question, was by no means in doubt. Glory in defeat isn't sustainable, but it's also what has made the USMNT likeable: hustle, aggression, a refusal to back down – soccer as capitalism.
It might also just make this team fun again, even if the subsequent loss to Switzerland was thorough. All bets are off. Both Mexico and Canada are better positioned to win this year's Gold Cup. You could argue that Panama, too, are in with a better shout.
Any run the U.S. goes on will be a memorable thing. With more than half the starting roster missing – but all expected to be back after the Gold Cup and Club World Cup – and a squad full of players with limited caps, this could be the summer in which Pochettino shows he can embrace American fight in full.
Getty Images SportThe USWNT and the race to the top
And there's the question of the USWNT. Pochettino and Emma Hayes have been hailed in some corners as a heroic duo, two managers who came into the American soccer sphere at roughly the same time, from the same club, with the same goal: to revive a struggling program.
Hayes completed step one with a remarkably easy Olympic Gold win last summer. But she is now well into the hard part. Her best three attacking players, either injured or on maternity leave, are unavailable. There are question marks throughout the midfield and defense. A legendary goalkeeper needs replacing. This is where most teams, especially national teams, tend to fail.
Instead, she has found new heights. This U.S. player pool, it turns out, is really rather deep, and good. And Hayes has used it in full. The usual suspects have remained in the team, but around them is a wonderful group of talented youngsters. The revival of the once-defunct Under-23 system has allowed for players who aren't quite ready to be developed and then shuffled into the senior side.
The results have been accordingly upbeat. The USWNT battered China and Jamaica last week by a combined score of 7-0, as Hayes handed out a series of debuts and started relatively inexperienced teams.
And there are more to come. A duo of friendlies against Ireland are set for the end of the month. They will take on Canada on July 2. Rose Lavelle, a stalwart of past USWNT sides who still deserves another shot in the first team, is on her way back to full fitness. Perhaps the only disappointing aspect is that – with the 2027 Women's World Cup still two years away – there isn't much on the line other than the swagger of their play and the pride that comes with a win.
IMAGNAccessibility and buzz
Perhaps the best part of this all? The accessibility. Usually, soccer is played in different time zones. West Coast Premier League fans might have to get up as early as 4 a.m. to watch their favorite team. Champions League fixtures are right in the middle of the workday for the U.S. They're also expensive to watch.
The Club World Cup, meanwhile, will be tangibly accessible. Group stage tickets can now be bought for as low as $30 (much to FIFA's chagrin.) The whole tournament will be streamed on DAZN – and select matches on TNT in the U.S. – with a lineup of world-class commentators.
The USMNT, too, will be remarkably easy to watch, complete with favorable kickoff times. The ripple effect brought on by that could be immense. There are three MLS clubs participating in the Club World Cup – Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, LAFC and Seattle Sounders. They will be handed an immense opportunity of their own to show off their quality, and also prove to the world that American soccer is legit.
"I'm excited as an American that lives here because Major League Soccer, their stadiums, their venues, their infrastructure, the clubs, the fan bases, a new fan base is going to be exposed to Major League Soccer – and what we're doing over in this country," Apple TV commentator and analyst Taylor Twellman told GOAL.
