The 2026 World Cup is just a matter of days away, and everybody is discussing whether or not the USMNT (United States men’s national soccer team) has the potential to make it to the table. Nearly everyone in the U.S. is gambling on whether the team is indeed ready to be on the largest stage in sports.

Chad Johnson, the legend of the Cincinnati Bengals, gave the hot pan an electric charge with his latest soccer podcast, The Late Run with Ochocinco, when he bet against his own nation to succeed.

“If the United States made a national team and made it to the quarterfinals, I’m telling you right now, I will streak nude, your South Beach will go USA across my chest, and I will deal with the jail time. I will deal with the fine. I will deal with the embarrassment. I’m not tripping.”

His statement just doesn’t come from a lack of belief but is based on the team’s historical performance. Reaching the quarterfinals would be a massive milestone. It was the first thing that the U.S. had done since it did in 2002.

What is more intriguing about the bet is that it is made by Johnson, who is arguably one of the largest soccer superfans on the planet. He does not merely watch the game; he does it with such passion just bordering on madness of obsession. Johnson himself acknowledges that he is likely to go a bit too far.

In retrospect, the Americans have yet to make it to the elite stages of soccer; they were eliminated in the Round of 16 in 2010, 2014, and 2022, and they notoriously did not even qualify in 2018.

This year, the USMNT has been drawn into Group D, which looks sort of manageable but contains hidden dangers. They kick off their tournament against a physical Paraguay side on June 12, followed by matches against Australia and Türkiye. 

While the U.S. is expected to advance, former goalkeeper Tim Howard warned that the team often lacks intensity early on. Speaking with Landon Donovan, Howard noted: “You ready for it? They sleepwalk through the group.” 

He warned that the new design of the tournament demands a win in an additional knockout game at the Round of 32 and then even the Round of 16, something the U.S. has not always been able to win.

With the team preparing to enter into what is turning out to be a very difficult year, it has been refreshing to witness so many big names coming out to help the team in some way. One moment that really caught everyone’s eye last month was tight end Travis Kelce rocking a USMNT shirt. It might seem like a small gesture, but seeing the Kansas City star repping the national team definitely sent a wave of excitement through the fanbase.

With only eight nations ever winning a World Cup title, the road to the final is incredibly steep.

Howard pointed out that the team eventually has to play a big game and win it to prove they belong among the world’s best, something they haven’t done in the modern era. And to do so, they need the strongest of the players to carry the game forward. 

USMNT HC Mauricio Pochettino aims to take the team to the semifinals

The U.S. Men’s National Team is facing a major reality check just months before the 2026 World Cup. While head coach Mauricio Pochettino promised to lead the team to the semifinals, their latest performances suggest they are nowhere near that level. 

During the March friendlies, the U.S. was dominated in a 5-2 loss to Belgium and a 2-0 loss to Portugal. In contrast, Mexico played those same two teams and managed to earn draws, making the American struggle look even worse.

It is annoying that the team is in a bad place at the moment, and a major tournament is so near. Mauricio Pochettino is the one who was expected to bring stability, but he is spending valuable games experimenting. Relocating stars such as Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah out of their natural habitats is like going overboard. Players not at ease lose the flow of the game, and it reflects in the performance.

The largest concern is the defense. Since September, the U.S. has not scored a single clean sheet, and this is a very big red flag. Pochettino desires a fast, aggressive style of play by the team, but it is leaving the back line completely vulnerable. Those strategic errors, coupled with such legends as DaMarcus Beasley claiming that the team is not playing hard enough, can lead you to easily understand why people are beginning to panic over the fact that the last eight years of planning are going to waste.

Nevertheless, there is a ray of hope. Landon Donovan believes that the key to success would be a goalkeeper, Matt Freese. The defense is giving up so much ground that Freese will be expected to be superhuman in order to keep the U.S. in the game. It is not an ideal strategy; to count on a goalie to bail one out is dangerous, but with two months to live, the team may have to count on that sort of individual magic to get by.

The clock is now ticking for Pochettino. The U.S. has two final test matches against Senegal and Germany just weeks before the World Cup begins. 

If they cannot fix their defensive errors and settle on a winning lineup by then, the dream of reaching the semifinals may be over before the tournament even starts.