SEATTLE — The United States men’s national team has already carved out a historic chapter at this World Cup. No American squad has ever won three matches in a single tournament. Mauricio Pochettino, who had never coached a World Cup game just a month ago, now stands as the program’s all-time winningest manager at the event. For only the second time, the U.S. has advanced past a knockout round.
But history is a fickle thing. To truly separate this generation from those that came before, the next 90 minutes are everything.
The USMNT faces Belgium in the round of 16 at Lumen Field on Monday, July 6. A victory would punch their ticket to a World Cup quarterfinal for just the second time ever. For midfielder Tyler Adams, this is the kind of moment that defines legacies.
“As a team we want to leave our mark on the game and a legacy behind,” Adams said on Friday, July 3. “I want it to be more than just what this moment has created and the hype around it. If we’re talking about the team and the success that they’ve had, you know, two years from now, then we’ve done something right. I don’t think in the moment it’s as important, but again, we want to have success. We know the further that we go, the more success we’re going to have, and the game is going to grow.”
Adams and his teammates now carry the rare weight of experience in multiple World Cup knockout games. That’s a luxury few U.S. players could claim in recent years, especially after the team’s painful failure to qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia. Missing that World Cup was a low point. Reaching a quarterfinal on home soil against a powerhouse like Spain or Portugal would be the highest of highs.
But first, Belgium stands in the way.
“You need to embrace the moment, that’s for sure, to have an opportunity to play in a round-of-16 game,” Adams said. “Last World Cup we did, but it was obviously the first knockout game, not the second. It was nice to get a little bit of a taste of what it feels like to play with something a little bit more on the line in the last game (against Bosnia and Herzegovina). I think that’s good preparation.”
Adams wants this team to be remembered. Beat Belgium, and they will be.
