Was the USMNT’s 2026 World Cup Campaign a Success or Failure?

The co-host’s campaign has to be split between the performance on the pitch and the impact off it.

The U.S. bowed out of the World Cup in the round of 16. | Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated

“Success can’t be bought,” Barcelona manager Hansi Flick likes to say. “It’s rented. And every day the rent is due.”

The U.S. men’s national team managed to keep up its down payments on glory for the opening three weeks of the tournament before a humbling 4–1 defeat to Belgium in the round of 16. Yet, it could be argued that the true success of the summer, capturing the imagination and affection of the U.S. public as well as the wider world, was ended one day earlier.

If anything, a swift elimination in the wake of Folarin Balogun’s suspended suspension may even have helped how the tournament as a whole is remembered.

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What Was the World Cup Goal for the USMNT?

Mauricio Pochettino had lofty ambitions. | Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated

“We need to really believe and think of big things. We need to believe that we can win, that we can win all [of the] games. We can win the World Cup.”

Mauricio Pochettino set out his lofty ambitions for the USMNT in his very first press conference as manager back in September 2024. Whether he ever actually believed that a team with Matt Freese as its goalkeeper would become the first nation from outside Europe or South America to lift the men’s World Cup is up for debate, but the thought process behind setting the bar so high was clear.

“We should dream without limits,” Pochettino explained during the tournament. “If I dream of touching the moon, of being up on the moon, maybe I can get close to the moon. If I only dream of getting close to it, I’ll stay on Earth.”

What metaphorically escaping Earth’s orbit would actually translate to in terms of a tournament run was never explicitly outlined. A round-of-16 exit, the same stage of elimination for the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup, probably doesn’t cut it.

Christian Pulisic set out his stall in terms of revenge. “We want to go and prove ourselves right,” the most scrutinized player of his generation warned ahead of the tournament. “That we can go in and compete with the best, and really make a run in this tournament. For us, that’s what it’s all about.” In the end, Pulisic proved to be everything his fiercest critics feared.

U.S. Soccer Federation chief executive JT Batson had the most interesting take on what success would look like. “Does the team inspire belief?” he outlined to the Financial Times. “Does it make you proud? Do you want to wear your jersey? Do you want to wear something with an American flag?”

For so much of the summer, the U.S. emphatically hit that brief.

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What Were the Successes of the USMNT’s World Cup Campaign?

Public Opinion

The crowds really got involved this summer. | Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated

Unlike so many seasoned soccer followers, there is a bubbling optimism to American sports fans. Once the distraction of the NBA Finals had subsided and it turned out that Pochettino had crafted a somewhat competent team, the nation leaned into World Cup fever.

From the concentration of New York City to the disparate sprawl of Los Angeles, there was a palpable sense of enthusiasm for the national team and the tournament at large. Every bar and restaurant with a TV soon discovered an easy way to lock in paying customers for at least two hours: turn on whatever World Cup game was playing. Suddenly words like “Norway,” “Kylian Mbappé” and “offside” became everyday vocabulary.

The U.S. solely hosted the Gold Cup last summer, playing in stadiums that were either sparsely attended or full of rival fans. The team’s greatest triumph this year was capturing the imagination of thousands who made every single home match a sell out in a sea of red and white stripes.

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Squad Harmony

Gio Reyna got his World Cup moment in the dying stages against Paraguay. | Jamie Squire/Getty Images

In the immediate aftermath of the humiliation against Belgium, Pochettino was asked for his appraisal of specific players. The Argentine coach cut that sort of individual inquiry short throughout the tournament and was in no mood to change his stance. In his mind, everyone had done the one thing he asked of them: get along.

“I’m happy with every player who was involved because of the way they behaved, their attitude and their commitment,” the Argentine highlighted. “We didn’t have a single issue over 40 or 50 days because everybody understood the ideas and showed respect.”

While that may seem like a prerequisite for any group of adults, the World Cup is littered with examples of fiercely competitive millionaires turning on each other. Just four years ago, the USMNT’s campaign in Qatar was played to the backdrop of Gio Reyna’s discontent with former manager Gregg Berhalter. The tension was so toxic it eventually led to a public unearthing of a feud between the Reyna and Berhalter families stretching back three decades.

Reyna was fortunate to even be picked for this summer’s roster, rewarded Pochettino with a goal and made a start in the group stage.

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Blossoming Generation

Three members of the current roster could be even more important at the next World Cup. | Lyndsay Radnedge/ISI Photos/Getty Images

As much as Pochettino may resent individual inspection in a team sport, three figures emerged as future standard bearers for the USMNT in the 2030 World Cup cycle.

Alex Freeman, still only 21, Malik Tillman (24) and Folarin Balogun (25) stand to be even better in four years’ time. A defender as intelligent as he is tenacious coupled with a versatile creator and clinical finisher is an encouraging spine to build around.

The only issue is that Pochettino may not be the architect by then.

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What Were the Failures?

Star Power Doesn’t Pop

Christian Pulisic picked up an injury against Belgium. | John Todd/ISI Photos/Getty Images

Pulisic’s limited involvement this summer has been ruthlessly dissected but he wasn't the only shiny name who fell short of his pre-tournament billing.

Sergiño Dest spent the World Cup very nearly getting into promising positions, squandering the abundant potential of a system specifically catered to his limitations as a defender.

It would be easy to assume that Reyna did, in fact, leave the camp after bending in his only goal of the tournament against Paraguay in garbage time of a blowout win, such was his limited influence in the subsequent four matches. Captain Tim Ream may wish he had jumped ship given the dire note his tournament ended on, bumbling around his own penalty box against Belgium.

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External Intervention

Folarin Balogun’s World Cup knockout debut took a sharp turn. | Maja Hitij/FIFA/Getty Images

Beyond anything as prosaic as an out of form forward, the biggest failure of the USMNT’s tournament was self-inflicted. The President Donald Trump-inspired reprieve for Balogun's harsh if not egregious red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina threatened to taint the entire tournament. With one phone call to Gianni Infantino, the USMNT went from championed to chastised by neutrals and partisans alike.

“I didn’t know that July 5 was equal to April 1 at FIFA,” Belgium boss Garcia scoffed while preparing to face a strengthened USMNT. “The federation does not defend itself, it does not defend the national team—it defends football in general.”

All the good will built up by fans who had been taken in by American hospitality during the first month of the tournament had been set aflame, with the USMNT suddenly upheld as enemies of the beautiful game. As Norway manager Ståle Solbakken pointed out, it was a lose-lose situation: “I feel sorry for the United States, because even if they win, the game will always have this bad thing about it.”

The U.S. lost, emphatically so, with Balogun subsequently admitting that the controversy unnerved the team. Although, that may have been a blessing in disguise.

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Where the USMNT’s 2026 World Cup Lands on Sliding Scale of Success

Mauricio Pochettino did himself proud. | Luke Hales/Getty Images

In the wake of such a convincing defeat, the controversy of Balogun’s faux red card faded into the ether along with the silenced cheers of the Lumen Field crowd in Seattle.

From a strictly sporting perspective, a team which entered the tournament ranked 17th in the world getting knocked out in the round of 16 is almost the definition of par.

The intangible, emotional connection fostered by the team had wildly exceeded expectations until the cloud of governmental interference formed overhead. Yet, as that controversy drifts into the background, the joy this side inspired can remain.

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