Like a lot of you I suspect, my relationship with the United States men’s national team has been a bit of a roller coaster. There are times, usually in the buildup and during the World Cup, that I allow myself to go all-in, cheering and celebrating with the same uncomplicated emotions that I have for the Seattle Sounders.
But there are also times when I lapse into something closer to ambivalence. I will simply not watch friendlies. I often don’t care about early results in other tournaments like the Gold Cup or even Copa America. I don’t often feel genuine emotion when they’re eliminated. More recently, my level of interest has been dictated mostly by the Sounders’ connections.
This has been sent into hyperdrive over the past few years. I’m sure that’s due at least in part to a lack of qualifying – the USA, along with fellow hosts Mexico and Canada didn’t go through years of meaningful matches to get into this tournament – but it’s also all the politics that have started to envelope this team. I’m not going to do a full rundown, but I suspect you understand.
It definitely contributed to a certain trepidation heading into this year’s World Cup. I didn’t know how I felt about this team emotionally, and I certainly wasn’t sure what I expected out of them on the field.
Friday’s history-making 4–1 over Paraguay has forced me to reconsider all of that.
I don’t say this lightly. There’s a comfort in ambivalence. You shield yourself from disappointment. You can laugh off a poor result. You can feel almost superior to those who allowed themselves to be duped.
But it’s also a lot less fun. I could feel that on Friday.
When the United States scored their first goal, I celebrated – but only barely – and I don’t think it was just because it was an own -goal. This was the type of goal the U.S. rarely scores, the product of some slick buildup and a dynamic move by Christian Pulisic. If Damian Bobadilla doesn’t deflect Weston McKinnie’s cross, Folarin Balogun likely smacks it into the goal.
I could feel it shifting a bit when the U.S. scored their second goal, which came a few minutes after another strike was disallowed for offside.
But any self-made shield I had constructed completely fell away by the time the U.S. scored their third. When Balogun got out on the break, shook off a defender and smashed his left-footed shot into the upper corner, I knew there was no going back. This clip from Telemundo pretty much sums it up.
i'm loving this clip from TV Azteca with the Mexican commentary team reacting to Balogun's second goal last night
— yellowstoneten (@yellowstoneten.bsky.social) June 13, 2026 at 12:29 PM
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By the time Gio Reyna stroked in the fourth goal with the most casual trivela you’re ever likely to see on the game’s final kick, I had already moved into radical acceptance.
The U.S. didn’t just show the world that they could compete, they showed that they could truly perform on the biggest stage they’ve ever had. With the world watching – and likely expecting them to fail – the Americans turned in what has to be their greatest performance in history.
It wasn’t just that the U.S. scored four goals in a World Cup game for the first time ever, or that they scored as many goals in this game as they had in in their previous six World Cup matches combined, or even that they scored more goals in this game than they had in 6 of their 9 previous World Cup appearances. More impressive than all of that was how they looked doing it.
The U.S. played inspired soccer, pressing so relentlessly that Paraguay barely had the ball in their attacking half and springing so many dangerous attacks that it felt like they could have scored seven. This is what it looks like when an athletic and talented side absolutely dominates an opponents, something no American team has done on this kind of stage … ever.
Even better? Their next game is in Seattle. The United States have played competitive matches here six times in its history. They have won all six of those games. Their 2–1 win over Ecuador in the 2016 Copa America Centenario quarterfinals was quite possibly their most impressive performance of the past decade … prior to Friday.
First, allow yourself to enjoy this win and imagine what could be. Allow yourself to believe this team has not yet hits its peak. Allow yourself to fall in love, even if only with the on-field product.
The next week is going to be fun. American soccer fans are coming to Seattle ready to party. They’re about to experience the best soccer culture in the country and together we’re about to show that to the world.
