Less than a year away from hosting the World Cup, and the US looks far too much like the bickering Red Sox than a serious contender
This 2026 World Cup, which includes seven matches at Gillette Stadium — dubbed Boston Stadium for the tournament — represents the biggest moment for the careful choreography of soccer social climbing by the US since hosting the seminal 1994 World Cup. The American Dream was that the next time the US men hosted the World Cup they would be in a position to talk about lifting it. However, that looks risible.
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Turmoil and disarray surround the program as the clock ticks closer to the first 48-team World Cup and American soccer's stress test.
The US was reeling entering the CONCACAF Gold Cup this month, suffering four straight losses between the Nations League and friendlies. It marked the first time since the Dark Ages (1988) that the team dropped four consecutive matches on home soil.
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However, the US can pick up some positive momentum with a strong showing in the ongoing Gold Cup. The Red, White, and Blue won their group (3-0-0) and face regional rival Costa Rica on Sunday in Minneapolis in the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament.
But the Gold Cup field is as close to the World Cup field as Luke Kornet is to Bill Walton. And the squad the US is fielding feels more experimental than aspirational.
After a long season with AC Milan, Christian Pulisic (middle) chose not to make himself available for the US men's national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Maurizio Lagana/Getty
That decision brought Pulisic under fire from former US men's team players, including co-all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan.
It's giving serious Rafael Devers-Craig Breslow vibes.
In addition to Pulisic's absence, his AC Milan teammate Yunus Musah also asked out of the Gold Cup. Injuries to dynamic defender Sergiño Dest, striker Folarin Balogun, and left back Antonee Robinson robbed the roster of other top-flight talents. Plus, more starting-caliber players (Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, and Gio Reyna) missed this tour of US duty due to the odious and extraneous FIFA Club World Cup.
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Although ranked 16th in the FIFA world rankings, the US is currently closer to northern neighbor Canada than global powerhouses Argentina, Spain, and France. After a 2-1 victory in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place match in March, Canada downed the US in consecutive matches for the first time since 1985.
Jonathan David and Canada currently have a two-game winning streak against the US, the latest win coming in March in the third-place game of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Michael Owens/Getty
How's that for a 51st state?
This hardly sounds like the stuff of a giant leap for the beautiful game in the US next year. Rather, it's the continuation of US soccer stagnation, a frustrating trend because the talent pool is better and deeper than ever.
Long before America had Project 2025, we had
The US advanced to the Round of 16 in 1994. Since then, they've been beyond that just once — advancing to the
They delivered a perfunctory performance in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, reaching the Round of 16 despite only winning one match,
'We can show that we can hang with the best teams in the world, some of the best players in the world, and that's a lot of progress for US Soccer,' said team captain Tyler Adams. 'We're moving in the right direction for sure, but we need to keep pushing because we're not there yet, but we're close.'
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They don't feel that close, although much can change in 11½ months in international soccer.
Still, the US men struggle to live up to the lofty status of their female counterparts. They're Rosie the Riveting with the ball at their feet, playing an aesthetically appealing and successful brand of soccer (four World Cup wins). So, there's nothing intrinsic to our nation preventing soccer success.
An ideal model for the US men would be another country wrapped in red, white, and blue, France. Marshalling their cultural and demographic diversity, Les Bleus are a top-five world team with a history of legendary players. That mantle handed to the magnetic Kylian Mbappé.
The French didn't qualify for the World Cup the last time it was here. But since 1998, they've captured two World Cups and lost in the final twice on penalties, including to Argentina in 2022.
If we can emulate their military parades, we should also be able to emulate their soccer program.
The 2026 World Cup stands as a tremendous stepping stone for US soccer, but between now and kickoff, the US men's program has to stop finding stumbling blocks.
Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
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