“We need to really believe and think of big things. We need to believe that we can win, that we can win all [of the] games. We can win the World Cup.”

Mauricio Pochettino set out his lofty ambitions for the USMNT in his very first press conference as manager back in September 2024. The co-hosts would ultimately exit the tournament after a loss to Belgium in the round of 16. While the historic team did not meet the ambitious goals laid out by Pochettino, they captivated the country with one of the program’s most memorable tournament runs, and gave supporters genuine optimism heading into the future. Balogun became the first American man to have multiple goals in a World Cup game since Patenaude in 1930. Team USA finished with six points in the group, its most ever in a group stage at a World Cup. The team advanced in a knockout stage match at the World Cup for the first time since reaching the quarterfinals in 2002 and only the second time ever winning a knockout stage game in a World Cup. Team USA won three matches at a World Cup for the first time ever. “We should dream without limits,” Pochettino explained during the tournament. “If I dream of touching the moon, of being up on the moon, maybe I can get close to the moon. If I only dream of getting close to it, I’ll stay on Earth.”