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Why not us? The ambitions of U.S.
mens national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino eventually became lofty.
Why couldnt the United States of America, never before World Cup finalists, achieve a feat that would exceed the greatest underdog story in the countrys esteemed sporting history: the Miracle on Ice? It was on home soil in Lake Placid when a group of college kids humiliated a hockey superpower.
At the height of the Cold War, the USA team stunned Soviet pros 43 to win gold at the 1980 Winter Olympicsa story now the subject of a wonderful Netflix documentary.
Pochettinos roster of 26 sought to ascend to new heights this summer, with pre-tournament nerves making way for the most emphatic victory of the Argentines reign.
A 41 win over Paraguay captured the nation, instilling belief that this time, maybe things would be different.
In the end, though, the USMNT, lauded by some as the finest ever, succumbed to an all-too familiar fate.
There was no miracle; not even its best World Cup performance.
That honor remains with the team of quarterfinalists of 2002.
Heres how the two runs compare.
USMNTs 2026 World Cup Run Compared to 2002 Legends Group Stage First off, lets clear something up.
We know the U.S.
finished third during the inaugural World Cup in 1930, but wed be doing the current crop a disservice by comparing their campaign to the three-game run from 96 years ago.
Its impossible to compare the two.
2002 is a much more suitable reference point.
Thirty-two nations competed in South Korea and Japan 24 years ago, while 48 were involved this summer.
So, while the USMNT was eliminated a round before the quarterfinalists of 02, the two teams still played five games.
Pochettinos team started out hot, trouncing Paraguay 41 and easing past Australia 20.
They performed with the cohesion of a European club outfit, with the Argentines ideals finally translating after plenty of toil.
Back in 2002, Pochettin was a World Cup player, and England fans long remembered him as the defender who fouled Michael Owen to tee up David Beckhams redemption from the penalty spot.
An Argentina team that entered the tournament as the favorites exited in the group stage.
The USMNT was still in its relative infancy 24 years ago.
Hosting the World Cup eight years prior helped inspire the development of Major League Soccer (MLS), and there were genuine stars included on Bruce Arenas roster, from a young Landon Donovan to Brian McBride.
Few expected them to turn over Portugal, semifinalists at Euro 2000, on Matchday 1, though.
Its 32 win in Suwon ranks among the finest in the USMNTs World Cup history, even if the Stars and Stripes were eventually forced to cling onto victory after racing into a 30 lead.
Arenas side subsequently drew with South Korea, and was grateful for the co-host beating Portugal on Matchday 3, given that they had been beaten 31 by Poland.
Pochettinos USMNT endured no such drama this time around.
FIFAs decision to use head-to-head as the decisive tie-breaker meant the team had already secured top spot in Group D with a match to spare.
A heavily rotated team fell 32 to Turkiye to round off the first phase.
Unlike 24 years ago, the current team had been expected to progress into the knockouts, and not merely because of the expanded tournament.
The USMNT of 2002 entered the World Cup with 3001 odds of lifting the trophy, while the latest iteration boasted 601 odds.
Group Stage Stat | 2002 | 2026 | |---|---|---| Opponents | Portugal, South Korea, Poland | Paraguay, Australia, Turkiye | Finish | 2nd | 1st | Record | 1-1-1 | 2-0-1 | Goals For | 5 | 8 | Goals Against | 6 | 4 | Knockout Stages By winning Group D, the USMNT set up a round of 32 tie against one of the eight third-place finishers.
Bosnia and Herzegovina represented plucky opposition, albeit one Pochettinos team was tipped to beat.
Arenas side, beaten comfortably by Poland just days before, was also content with its draw against familiar foes Mexico, even if El Tri had beaten Italy and Croatia to top spot in Group G and entered the World Cup as the seventh seed.
We knew them, Eddie Pope, a member of the 2002 team, later commented.
It wasnt because they were an easy team to beat.
It was just that we felt like we could beat them.
And beat them, they did.
Goals from Donovan and McBride sealed a 20 victory, a comparatively more impressive triumph than the USMNTs win over the 61st-ranked Bosnia by the same scoreline, even if Folarin Baloguns harsh red card meant they played much of the second half with 10 men.
In 2002, the USMNTs run was compromised by an egregious missed handball call against Germany.
Arenas side were a goal down thanks to Michael Ballack when Torsten Frings inadvertently handled on the goal line following a stellar Oliver Kahn save from future USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter.
Had Scottish referee Hugh Dallas made the right call, the U.S.
likely wouldve been level and boasting a man advantage with much of the second half still to play.
Germany went on to reach the final, but it was anything but a vintage German team.
Thus, the 02 squad departed the Far East off the back of a heroic failure.
On the contrary, the 2026 team fell flat against Belgium in Seattle.
FIFAs suspension of Baloguns ban drew widespread outrage and only motivated the Red Devils, who faced a far meeker iteration of the USMNT that had manifested at the start of the tournament.
A 41 defeat fairly represented the gulf between the two teams at Lumen Field.
While Pochettino had refused to rule out a near-impossible conquest of the soccer world, the slightly more rational majority backed his team to at least match the performance of 2002.
They failed to achieve even that, with the USMNT now exiting the World Cup in the round of 16 at four of the previous five tournaments.
I think overall there were positives that were going to take away from it, [but] it just doesnt feel like it matters, midfielder Tyler Adams neatly summarized.
What did this all mean? USMNTs 2026 Total World Cup Campaign vs.
2002 Stat | 2002 | 2006 | |---|---|---| Games Played | 5 | 5 | Won | 2 | 3 | Drawn | 1 | 0 | Lost | 2 | 2 | Goals For | 7 | 11 | Goals Against | 7 | 8 | Top Scorer(s) | Landon Donovan, Brian McBride (2) | Folarin Balogun (3) | Finish | Quarterfinals | Last 16 | READ THE LATEST USMNT NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC James Cormack is a writer for SI FC.
Opting against a football coaching undergraduate degree at the last minute, he instead decided to take on a six-month internship with 90min in 2019 and hasn't looked back.
Cormack's current SEO focus means he tends to venture to the land of match previews and predicted lineups, but he also has a wealth of experience in news and feature writing.
A passion for soccer's history and the European game often takes his work beyond the familiarity of the Premier League, but it's with Tottenham Hotspur where his strongest allegiance lies.