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Quarterfinals or bust.That’s the reality for the U.S. men’s national team at this World Cup. Untimely injuries, tough opponents, unlucky bounces — doesn’t matter. If soccer is ever to be considered a major sport in this country, the American public needs proof the USMNT is gaining on the rest of the world.That means making a historically deep run in the tournament that begins June 11 and upsetting a world powerhouse or two along the way.A run like that catches the attention of the entire country, not just the folks who own a Messi jersey (Argentina, Barcelona, PSG or Inter Miami are all acceptable), can tell you who Tyler Adams is and know the difference between the Champions League and the Premier League.Buy USMNT tickets!A run like that gets people talking about soccer and wanting more of it. A run like that gets kids to stick with soccer beyond Lil’ Kickers and gives the USMNT a player pool that is talented enough top to bottom to match up with France and Argentina and Spain.A run like that eventually gets the United States a men’s World Cup title.Go out earlier, however, and the opportunity to supercharge growth of the game here will have been squandered for decades to come."For us, there’s no reason to put an exact target of what’s a successful World Cup," Christian Pulisic said after the 26-man roster was confirmed. "... We’re going to do the best we can, we’re going to compete. We can decide after how we feel about how we did."Soccer landscape far different than it was in 1994It doesn't exactly work that way.This is only the second time the men's World Cup has been in the United States, and it's been 32 years since it was last here in 1994. If soccer is going to rival football and basketball for hearts, minds and future athletes in the United States, it's going to be because of this World Cup."The people that maybe don’t know a lot about soccer in America, to be able to feel the passion, I hope we can deliver to make people fall in love with the game here," Weston McKennie said.To be clear, the United States has made tremendous strides toward becoming a soccer nation since that 1994 World Cup. There are both men’s and women’s professional leagues, and both are thriving. The U.S. is producing players who are not only good enough to go to Europe, they’re starting at the biggest clubs and playing in the continent’s biggest competitions.Most important, soccer has carved out a space in the sporting landscape beyond the traditional hotbeds. Soccer jerseys are as ubiquitous as NFL and NBA jerseys, and it’s easier to watch the EPL than out-of-market NFL games.But the whole point of bringing the World Cup to the United States, then and now, was to get soccer on equal footing with basketball and football. For that to happen, the USMNT needs to show it can go toe-to-toe with the world’s best, something it has yet to do despite having more talent than ever before.Little for USMNT to show from World CupSince ending a 40-year absence from the World Cup in 1990, the Americans have never gone further than the quarterfinals. And that lone elite eight appearance came back in 2002, so long ago Landon Donovan was on his first head of hair.Now, there’s no shame in the occasional Round of 16 exit. Argentina had one of those in 2018 and came back to win the World Cup title four years later. But the knockout stage needs to be your base, not your ceiling, as it’s been in the USMNT’s last three World Cup appearances.Equally concerning is the USMNT’s performance against the world’s top teams.The Americans opened this year with shellackings from top-10 teams Belgium and Portugal. They lost 5-2 to Belgium and 2-0 to Portugal, and neither game was as competitive as the score indicated. Especially considering both were played at home.These were not one-offs, either. The Americans haven’t beaten a European team in four-plus years. They have one win, against then-No. 9 Mexico in November 2021, in their last 15 games against top-10 teams.It's no longer enough simply to get to the World Cup or to get out of the group stage. It's about time the USMNT started making some noise.Expanded tournament should help USMNTThis World Cup, the first to be played with 48 teams, is set up for the USMNT to have success. In addition to the top two teams in each group, the eight best third-place teams make the knockout rounds. That means that unless they botch the group stage, the USMNT should be the better team in the first knockout round game, maybe even the first two.The USMNT also will have the entire country behind it when it starts play June 12 against Paraguay. There are few things that unite Americans quite like athletes who have U-S-A on their chests, and the rowdy reception for the roster reveal was a sneak peek at the kind of enthusiasm that will greet the USMNT in Los Angeles, Seattle and beyond."Why not us?" USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino asked. "I think it’s important to really believe. In sport, the first thing is to believe and then to work really hard to try to earn what you want. American people know it’s about the dream, it’s about (doing) the impossible."And if they don't? If the USMNT struggles or makes an earlier-than-expected exit? People will tune out.Oh, the diehards will still watch the World Cup and casual observers might check in to see how Messi, Ronaldo and Mbappé are doing. But the moment will have passed. This golden opportunity to make soccer America's game will come to a screeching halt, and it will be decades before there's another.No pressure or anything, USMNT. Just know that the future of soccer in the United States is riding on you.Buy World Cup ticketsAtlanta | Boston | Dallas | Houston | Kansas City | Miami | Los Angeles | Philadelphia | New York | San Francisco | Seattle | Guadalajara | Mexico City | Monterrey | Toronto | Vancouver
