Thirty-two years after the 1994 World Cup, the US is hosting the 2026 edition amid high expectations for the national team's success and the game's rising popularity. Many believe that hosting the World Cup this time will be a historic turning point for soccer in the United States.
The last time the US hosted the World Cup in 1994, Bill Clinton was president, Nirvana was on the airwaves, and most Americans couldn't name a single player on their national team.
Thirty-two years later, the World Cup returns to the US, which is co-hosting the finals with Canada and Mexico. And with it comes the question that has haunted American soccer ever since: Will the game finally find its way into a major sport in America, one that brings with it significant success?
The short answer, according to most people in the game, is: "Anything less than a quarterfinal appearance is a failure." For Alexi Lalas, the former defender famous for his red beard who became one of the unexpected faces of the 1994 World Cup, "we can no longer accept low expectations for the 2026 World Cup."
Lalas, now a television commentator, added, "The opportunities and infrastructure we've built since 1994 have been invested in producing better players. Anything less than reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup is ultimately a failure."
The United States is gearing up to host the 2026 World Cup, with its national teams facing a flurry of friendly matches.
At the South by Southwest conference in Austin, players, officials, and media presented a clear picture of American soccer at a true turning point.
A lot has changed in the last three decades. When FIFA awarded the United States the hosting rights for the 1994 tournament, it was conditional on the establishment of a professional league, a move that at the time was a leap into the unknown. But that confidence paid off, first slowly, then all at once, as Major League Soccer attracted superstars like Argentina's Lionel Messi, the 2022 World Cup champion, and boasts average attendance figures that surpass many European leagues. All of this makes the World Cup in the US an unprecedentedly anticipated event.
Betina Garibaldi, director of marketing and communications for the 2026 World Cup Local Organising Committee in New York and New Jersey, said that soccer in America is "effectively the third most popular sport; it has overtaken baseball."
