Our kids are really rounding into form. Pulisic, McKennie, Reyna, Dest are all world class right now and they are so young. Adams is right there too. Then you have Musah who has come out of nowhere to look great. I think Richards will make the jump and pair up with Brooks. We are a great full back and striker away from having true studs at every position and we have depth. The striker part has me a little worried. Hoping Weah or Sargent can make the leap. Julian Green is also making noise and starting to fulfill the promise. He should get another look.
OT: We may win the World Cup in 2026
- Thread starter brad1218
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I will believe it when I see it. We have sucked in men’s soccer so long . It would be nice to even make a quarterfinal run.
Definitely some fine development in Europe for our guys these days.
A
anon_ivydyf0amkzay
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I see some epic US - Ghana matches in our future...
Players are great but Berhalter will kill their development at the national level. He has this idea of US Soccer in his head and is not adapting to the free flowing talent these guys possess. I'm not too hopeful with him in charge.
Belgium's "Golden Generation" hasn't won anything yet and all of a sudden one day you look up and de Bruyne and Hazard are on the other side of 30.
England has the most visible and valuable league in the world, has produced talents like Scholes/Beckham/Owen/Rooney and they're still searching since 1966.
So it is really hard to win a Cup. History has shown only the blueboods do it.
A "great striker away" is a lot further away from contending for an actual championship than you are letting on.
The elite teams have players who can create scoring chances from nothing, both when they are playing other elite teams with great fullbacks who limit chances, and lesser teams who pack things in so that a creative midfield has nowhere to go with the ball.
After the debacle of the last Cup cycle, we should be hoping for qualification and a decent run. Anything beyond that is dependent on the matchups at the time.
Win. lol. Let’s try and qualify first.
I would love a trip to the quarters at this point after the distaste that was 2018.
I would love a trip to the quarters at this point after the distaste that was 2018.
When there are 15-20 players getting regular minutes at Champions League level clubs, maybe then you could consider the USMNT as a contender. Until that point, be satisfied with a quarterfinal or maybe if they get lucky, a semifinal appearance.
I've often wondered the kind of coach who can really develop our American players (unlike Klinsmann and his JV German squad). I seem to remember an ex-Mexico coach being on the short list last time. Is Tab Ramos still considered a viable choice?
CBS got the rights and moved it all to streaming.
It sucks, because I work from home and during those years Fox had it the two Fox Sports cable channels would have multiple Champions League games on Tues/Wed and Europa League games on Thursdays.
CBS All Access, which is a paid streaming service if you're looking for English language.
I pay attention to RU soccer and our National team in its quest to qualify for the WC.
Other than that I don’t watch a second of it
Other than that I don’t watch a second of it
The ceiling for both is similar.
If the USMNT got its s**t together it is not unreasonable to make a run to the quarters and (if things fell right) the semis, but they are never going to be good enough to be the overall winner of a tournament that has Brazil, Germany, Spain, etc.
By the same token, Rutgers could go on a 2020 Indiana type run that could get us into a NYD 6 bowl, but the inherent disadvantages we have against the brand schools with their level of recruiting means we are likely to never make the playoff and certain to never win it.
Never is a long, long time. Keep our share of top NJ / "State of Rutgers" talent at home, coach them up, and catch lightning in a bottle and it could happen.
Re: World Cup - if Croatia can make the finals, so can we in the future. Any team in the finals could win it with a break here or there in a single match.
You are being unrealistic about the landscape Rutgers is paying in.
You can give Rutgers first choice of the 25 recruits they want out of the northeast including PA, and that recruiting class doesn’t get them close to the OSUs and Clemsons. The teams making the playoff are dominating in NATIONAL recruiting.
I think some are selling this group of players short. We have young talent playing on the best clubs in the world. This isn't Clint or Landon getting some time overseas. Our guys are playing key positions and delivering against world class competition. Anything less than a quarterfinal in 2026 would be a major disappointment.
What was Clemson before Dabo? A good but not great program. When was the last time they won the ACC before he was there? It was 1991. Dabo was hired in 2008 and did not win the ACC until 2011. They are monsters now but there is no guarantee they will be whenever Dabo moves on.
To say that we can NEVER do it is silly. The players that will be the 5* recruits in 20 years have not been born yet. To say we cannot do it in the next few years? Okay, I am with you on that one.
Never isn't a long long time. Never abruptly ends when you die. I'm almost 60. Never isn't as long as it used to be.
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Hold on Tex - yes, we have a lot more talent than we've ever had and that should get us into the top 10-15 and past the group stage, but winning the WC is way harder than getting to the final 8 or even 16. Should be fun to finally watch a team that should be very competitive, though.
Was having a similar conversation earlier today. Very exciting time for US soccer. 2026 might be early, given the youth, but it’s exciting that our best players won’t be from the MLS.
But they are starting in MLS either at the academy level or a MLS club who signs overseas. MLS becoming a feeder league.
Disagree most teams in the world don’t have a great striker. It’s a very tough position to fill right now for many club teams and countries. I am not sure we actually need a great striker. I would just prefer to have one. France won with Giroud who is not a stud striker anymore. Also, to the poster above we have already made the round of sixteen a few times and the quarterfinals once. We should have made the semis that year as well. That team that almost made the semis was nowhere near as talented as this team in 2026 will be. I am not saying we are going to win it. We will definitely be a favorite though with it being in home soil. Top 5 favorite.
Well sure. If you prefer the incessant commercials of football, or the endless recitation of arcane stats during the eons between pitches in baseball, then two 45 minute periods of uninterrupted athletic artistry in motion must seem so dull.
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2002 team went at you and was lead by Donovan and the core of young players with a chip on their shoulder.
Haven’t seen a US team play with that moxie in years though this group can get there. They just need someone in their ear telling them they aren’t good enough - Arena is a master motivator.
The US doesn’t need a world class striker - just a poacher. I think CP and GR will get them the ball.
And - the US must cap tie Mussah. He will be the engine.
The moment you say "never" is the moment it becomes impossible (for you) and you have effectively QUIT
i must be watching the wrong soccer matches. I've warmed up somewhat to the sport, but it's still full of long periods of boredom. And once in a while someone scores....maybe.
I'll be happy if we still have a country.