Which USMNT players must deliver at the World Cup?
U.S. soccer legend Clint Dempsey explains the pressure facing the USMNT ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Which USMNT players must deliver at the World Cup? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
They're gonna score a lot of goals, keep clean sheets, get out of the group.
You know, getting to, like, a quarterfinal, a semifinal, that, that would be dream come true.
That'd be a dream run.
I mean, there's a lot of pressure on them, you know, especially after Copa America, being the first host country to never, to, to not get out of the group stage.
That was a big letdown in 2024. so it'd be, they'd be looking to right that wrong in terms of this tournament.
With the way that the format is, it would be a, a nightmare not to get out of the group because you have more teams in it now.
eight, at least eight of the third place teams can get out of the group.
So that mean, basically all you have to have is one win and a good goal differential.
But I'm gonna be positive.
They're gonna, you know, win s- more than one game.
They're gonna score a lot of goals, keep clean sheets, get out of the group.
You know, getting to, like, a quarterfinal, a semifinal, that, that would be dream come true.
That'd be a dream run.
Something like what Korea did in 2002, and also like the US did in, in 2002, getting to a quarterfinal.
But, you know, I say South Korea just in terms of them being the host country and how their fan base got behind them.
Hopefully, the US will play in a way that makes this fan base be their 12th man.
I can think of four, four or five players that would need to have a, a strong performance so we could do a deep run.
I mean, you need Chris Richards to be at his best.
You need Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie to be at their best.
You need Christian Pulisic and Balogun to be at their best as well.
I mean, I think the spine of the team is so important.
But, we really need Christian to step up.
he's been in a little bit of a slump, with AC Milan and also the national team.
He hasn't scored a goal in a while, so no better time than in the biggest stage of, of all in the World Cup.
And he's someone that shows up in big moments, so, I'd like to see him, play well.
But also shout out to Weston McKennie, just how well that he's played at Juventus.
Been one of the best players in Europe, for us.
flying the flag over there.
I think he needs to have a big tournament as well.
Yeah, I mean, Abbott, the global health leader, Real Madrid, one of the best clubs in all the world, two powerhouses coming together and giving, kids an opportunity from, six different cities.
16 can be selected, and you learn about nutrition.
That's only gonna help you, stay younger and give you a better quality of life.
But also a great experience in terms of being around a situation and having to adapt and, and, and seeing kind of what you're made of.
I think there's no losses here.
There's only lessons learned.
But for the 16 that make it, once in a lifetime chance to fly to Spain, which some people maybe never been on a plane before or to another country, and to go to Madrid and train with Real Madrid, I mean, I would bit your hand off for an opportunity like that.
So hopefully they, they learn a lot from it.
And, yeah, I think it's really cool.
