There's a feeling building across America this June, and it isn't subtle. From the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. men's national team has played like a side that belongs — and the results back it up.
The Americans opened their tournament with a statement, thumping Paraguay 4-1 on June 12. A week later, they did it again, seeing off a physical Australia side 2-0 to punch their ticket to the knockout rounds. With those two victories, the U.S. did something no American team had done in nearly a century: win consecutive World Cup matches for the first time since 1930.
No Star, Still Winning
What makes it sweeter is how the second win came. Christian Pulisic — the team's biggest star and its emotional engine — sat out the Australia match entirely with a calf injury, never fully training all week. And yet the U.S. didn't blink. "No Pulisic, no problem" became the refrain, and the performance earned it: the Americans dominated a tough opponent without their talisman on the field.
That is the case for dreaming big. This isn't a one-man team. Striker Folarin Balogun has provided punch up top, the back line has held firm, and midfield leader Tyler Adams sets the tone with grit. When your best player can sit and your team still controls the game, depth stops being a talking point and starts being a weapon.
Pochettino's Underdogs
Credit belongs, too, to head coach Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine tactician arrived with a blunt assessment — that this squad has no top-100 players in the world rankings — and turned that supposed weakness into a rallying cry. His group wins as a collective.
Then there's the edge no opponent can prepare for: home soil. Packed American stadiums, roaring crowds, and a nation that has waited a generation for this moment. As defender Chris Richards put it, "I don't think it's ridiculous to say that we want to win it."
No, it isn't ridiculous. It's the kind of confidence that wins tournaments.
The Americans have already clinched first place in Group D after Türkiye fell to Paraguay, meaning the pressure is off for their group finale against Türkiye on June 25 in the Los Angeles area. Pulisic's health between now and the knockout rounds will be the storyline to watch, but the U.S. controls its own destiny.
For decades, American soccer fans were taught to hope for survival — to celebrate a draw, to dream of merely escaping the group. This team has rewritten that script in two weeks. It plays with creativity and toughness, it wins with or without its stars, and it does it in front of the loudest, proudest fans in the world.
So go ahead, America. Dream big. This time, the team on the field is giving you every reason to.
