Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app.The United States’ World Cup opener against Paraguay on Friday will provide opportunities for a number of American players to shine. But one stands out to me.This game is perfect for Sergiño Dest, who is exactly the type of player U.S. sports fans love to watch — and exactly the type of player Paraguay might find impossible to contain.Every World Cup team needs characters. Players who capture the imagination. Players who make people stop scrolling, lean forward and wonder what might happen next.What American soccer craves is for, years from now, people to look back on this team and this World Cup as something special and iconic. Just like the last time the U.S. hosted the tournament, hopefully with an even deeper run. The 1994 squad had personalities everywhere. Marcelo Balboa and Alexi Lalas stood out and there was Tony Meola, too, who had that Steven Seagal-style ponytail that I still tease him about to this day. Then there was Cobi Jones, all pace and yep, that hair.Those players gave fans something to connect with, and when I look at Dest, he has that modern-day connectivity. He brings a freestyle tendency to dribble at players. He likes to be expressive on the ball, daring and creative. That’s typically what American supporters — not necessarily soccer-specific supporters, just sports fans — want to see. They want that X-factor, the player who’s trying moves, doing tricks, and entertaining. That’s the kind of player he is.He’s the wild card with the U.S. men’s national team because he’s not afraid to beat players. When he’s doing that as a right wingback, he opens up the field for everybody else.