USMNT Legend Clint Dempsey Gives World Cup Prediction, Pulisic Message

The joint all-time top goalscorer in U.S. history says several key factors must be considered for success to come at this home World Cup.

Clint Dempsey had key World Cup insights. | Omar Vega/Getty Images

U.S. men’s national team legend Clint Dempsey is no stranger to soccer’s grandest stage, having competed in three World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014) during his career and becoming the country’s first men’s player to score at all three.

Since retiring in 2018, the all-time joint-leading goal scorer (57) has passed the red-white-and-blue baton, and he has every faith in the USMNT to go far this summer as they co-host the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off in less than 50 days.

“Why not?” Dempsey tells Sports Illustrated. “It’s one of those things that if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will. As the tournament goes on, you start to believe more and more.

“I think the U.S. definitely could do something special, and that’s what I am hoping for as an American fan.”

Dempsey touched on several key factors that will play into the country’s desired success, including one player he is most eager to watch on the pitch.

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Home Field Advantage

Alexi Lalas starred in the 1994 World Cup for the United States. | PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images

For Dempsey, a specific advantage comes from competing on home soil. The Stars and Stripes will participate in Group D beginning June 12, clashing with Paraguay in Los Angeles, Australia in Seattle and finally Türkiye back in L.A.

The last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup was 1994, when the Americans—donning their famed Wild West, denim-like attire—made a historic round of 16 appearance, defeating South American giants Colombia, 2–1, in front of a crowd of over 93,000 at the Rose Bowl and losing to eventual champions Brazil only 1–0.

The ‘94 team’s success serves as an important baseline for the current squad seeking similar heights and fanfare.

“It’s a framework in terms of how to get the fan base behind you,” Dempsey says. “You need to give the fans something to cheer about. You need to get the country excited, and the way you do that is through your play and through your fight, knowing what gets people out of their seats, whether in the stadium or at home. It’s contagious.

“Americans love winners, and you see how we get behind our athletes in the Olympics and other sports to cheer than on. That’s the key, just getting off to a good start and giving the people something to believe in. The way you do that is how hard you fight, your willingness to take risks to score goals and hopefully keep clean sheets.”

Another model of success is South Korea, who co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with Japan and made a run to the semifinals, a national best.

The U.S.’s success on home soil this summer would not only make for a historic run in the tournament, but is also integral for the progression of the sport stateside.

“The professional domestic league [MLS] came about because of that 1994 World Cup, having MLS,” Dempsey adds. “So who’s to say what could happen next after a successful World Cup in 2026.”

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A Little Bit of Luck

Mauricio Pochettino will want fresh, healthy legs in the lead up to the tournament. | Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Sure, the USMNT will need to capitalize on the several factors in their control, should they wish to meet manager Mauricio Pochettino’s lofty goal of a semifinal run.

“It’s important to start early, start on the right foot early, because you don’t want to be waiting around to the last game to try to get a certain result, to get out of the group.” Dempsey says. “It is easier to get out of the group in this World Cup because they’re allowing now eight of the third place teams to get out ... So anything less than getting out of the group, I think would be a failure.”

Nevertheless, luck always plays a part in who ends up making a deep run. The most famous incident of luck in the World Cup might be soccer legend Diego Maradona’s “hand of God” play, when he scored the opening goal of the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal match with his left hand, leading Argentina to a 2–1 victory over England en route to winning the entire thing.

The U.S. certainly won’t set their sights on an undetected hand-ball goal, but they’ll need luck in other important ways.

“You have to avoid too many injuries,” Dempsey admits. “You have to avoid yellow card suspensions. You have to hope that you get a good pathway, depending on where you finish in the group. There’s more difficult pathways getting to a semifinals than others.”

The USMNT player pool has already been plagued by season-ending injuries this month, including striker Patrick Agyemang who suffered a Achilles tendon injury and back-up goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann who broke his neck in a collision on the field. The Stars and Stripes will look to be diligent in keeping everybody else healthy in the lead up to group stage play.

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Previous World Cup Experience

Several 2022 World Cup players are returning to the grand stae. | RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images

USMNT’s 2026 roster is likely to have plenty of composed heads—veterans of the international scene who also play their domestic soccer at high levels across Europe as well as in MLS.

“They got a lot of players that have World Cup experience,” Dempsey says. “You think about to 2022, a lot of those guys, it was their first World Cup, whereas this one, a lot of the guys, they have one under their belt. They know what to expect, so I think they will be ready.”

Pochettino should have at least 12 players on his roster that competed in Qatar, including Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah. At the 2022 World Cup, the U.S. only had one roster player with previous experience in the tournament—DeAndre Yedlin, who competed in 2014 given the country failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

As a co-host, the U.S. missed out on the added experience of a qualifying campaign for this edition of the tournament, but Dempsey believes Pochettino has made up for that loss of experience by scheduling challenging foes for the Stars and Stripes in recent friendlies. The U.S. faced UEFA giants Belgium and Portugal in the March international window, losing 5–2 and 2–0 respectively.

“All you can do is make the most difficulty friendlies that you can, and I thought they’ve done a great job of picking out friendlies. We still have Senegal and Germany to prepare for, so looking forward to seeing how they do in those games.”

The USMNT host Senegal on May 31 and Germany on June 6 for two final tune-up friendlies.

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Pulisic’s Struggles and the Striker Battle

USMNT strikers Ricardo Pepi (left) and Folarin Balogun are in competition for a starting spot. | John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

Dempsey recently narrated a hero film for Gatorade’s new soccer campaign, “Trust What’s Inside,” teaming up with star strikers Vinicius Junior and Pulisic ahead of the World Cup, the latter of whom he has built a strong relationship with.

“We played together with the national team during qualifying in 2018,” Dempsey says of Pulisic. “He was like a little brother to me. I enjoyed my time playing with him on the pitch. He assisted me in quite a few goals. It’s his team now.”

Pulisic, affectionately called ‘Captain America’ by his AC Milan teammates, has been a dominant force in the attack for the USMNT with 32 goals since his international debut in 2016, yet he has struggled to find the back of the net as of late for club and country. The winger has been held scoreless across the last 16 games in Serie A play, dating back to December, and hasn’t scored for his country since 2024.

“Obviously, if he ever wants to talk, it’s an open door for me, but he’s a top professional, and that’s what you go through. You go through these ups and downs. It’s a roller coaster, this game, and sometimes it can make you go crazy, but all you need sometimes is that assist or that next goal to get you back on a wave again.

“He has the quality of someone that can turn it on at any time.”

Pulisic is in a goal-scoring drought. | Getty/Shaun Clark

While Pulisic seeks to regain form, fortunately, the U.S. has many other scoring threats, including AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun, who Dempsey is most excited to hopefully watch this summer. Balogun has 12 goals so far in Ligue 1 play, scoring in each of his last eight matches. He is currently battling for Pochettino’s starting striker role this summer with other recent standouts.

“Just that battle for the striker position for our national team ... you have Haji Wright, who’s doing really well at Coventry. They just got promoted to the Premier League. You have Ricardo Pepi [of PSV Eindhoven], who is always going to change the game when you get him in.

“I am looking forward to that battle of our strikers and who’s going to be that main No. 9, but for me, just Balogun’s form and how well he has been doing at Monaco, I am looking forward to seeing how that translates to the World Cup.”

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