Lower expectations for the USMNT in 2026? Not so fast.
I'm not going to let these players off the hook so easily. I'm not going to accept that this is as good as it gets. I still believe they can do great things. I still believe they can do things we haven't seen before. It's not delusional or disingenuous. This team doesn't need a cheerleader. It's also not blind faith, although there is an inherent element of faith, given that they haven't done anything special yet.
Obviously, I can't simply will these players to be something they will never be. But I think we're settling too soon. We're allowing them to accept being an average U.S. national team. The World Cup kicks off in 445 days. These American players are being given the unique opportunity to play in a World Cup in their own country. Many have already experienced unprecedented fame, fortune, and success at the club level. But nothing will ever compare to the power and impact of doing something special at a home World Cup ... believe me, I know.
Yes, there's pressure and responsibility. But there's also glory and opportunity. If I didn't believe that this team is worthy of my high expectations, I wouldn't waste my time. But I don't want to go into the 2026 World Cup just hoping to be pleasantly surprised. So, I refuse to paint this team with the convenient but harmful brush of low expectations that can so easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The 2026 World Cup will come and go. It remains to be seen what its legacy will be. I believe these players have the capacity to do historic things, and things that will be remembered. I acknowledge my red, white, and blue-colored glasses. Maybe I'm Pollyanna. But the alternative is to accept that what hasn't been done, can't be done. I think that goes against everything that America represents, and that this team should represent.
This team is undoubtably flawed … all teams are. Its periodic lack of leadership, nastiness, and motivation can be maddening. This may not be a golden generation, or the most talented group this country has ever produced. But I believe they have the capacity to be more than the current sum of their parts. And despite the natural inclination, we do them a disservice by shrugging in apathy.
So, I'm doubling down. I'm expecting and demanding better, because I believe they can be.
Alexi Lalas is a soccer analyst for FOX Sports and host of "Alexi Lalas' State of the Union Podcast." He represented the USMNT at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and had a nine-year professional career. In 2006, he became the president of the LA Galaxy and helped bring David Beckham to Major League Soccer.
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