The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) has been getting a lot of talk in the media and socials recently for being one of the greatest in American history. Some have even said they should be considered among the favorites for the next two FIFA World Cups. That might be a bit extreme but if you look at the lineup they put out today against Jamaica in a friendly it is easy to see where the excitement is coming from.
If you replace the two MLS midfielders with Mckinnie and Adams, and replace Adam Long with Chelsea’s CB Matt Miazga, you have a USMNT starting 11 entirely made up top tier European players. Even without those three players the team is chalked full of UEFA Champions League talent. There has certainly been a bit of over reaction from American fans saying that it would be a disappointment if they do not win the 2022 or 2026 World cup. They may not really have a chance to win a World Cup but being among the teams who could win is a massive step forward. If you told most USMNT fans from two or three decades ago they were one of the favorites to get out of their group in any world cup it would seem like a pipe dream, now its almost expected that the team will be competing in the knockout stages of all of the competitions they enter.
The men certainly have a chance to make history for their program, but will they ever be able to match the success of the women’s team? Who can say, but certainly this generation of players is the one with the most potential in modern football history.