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NBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- NBC News
The U.S. men's national team has a major opportunity hosting the next World Cup. Is it ready?
Tony Meola knows the pressure of competing in front of his home fans. Back in 1994, when the United States hosted the FIFA World Cup, Meola, the national team's starting goalkeeper, and his teammates had not one but two jobs: beat the competition and help grow the game. 'It was relentless,' he told NBC News. 'Twenty-four hours a day for a year leading into the World Cup. Promotion of the game, events. We never stopped.' His team did its part off the field — the event shattered attendance records even though soccer wasn't the most popular sport at the time — and it made it out of the group stage before it lost 1-0 to eventual champion Brazil. Though it wasn't the result it wanted, that squad is credited for helping generate major interest and participation in the sport stateside. Meola had dreams of one day seeing the U.S. men's national team become perennial contenders. But more than 30 years later, with the country (along with Canada and Mexico) hosting the 2026 World Cup next June, he says there's still as much up in the air as there was two decades ago. 'I don't feel like we're ready right now,' Meola, now an analyst for CBS Sports Golazo Network, said of the current U.S. team. 'I want to see progression over the next year and go into [the World Cup] with as few question marks as possible, not going in there sort of fearing what's going to happen.' Meola is far from the only former USMNT player to share some skepticism one year out. His co-hosts on the soccer podcast 'Call It What You Want,' Charlie Davies and Jimmy Conrad, also expressed concern. So did Fox Sports, MLS and Apple commentator Maurice Edu. Taylor Twellman, the lead soccer analyst for Apple TV, put it more bluntly. When he was asked how the United States stacks up right now with the top countries in the world, he told NBC News: 'They're not in the conversation with any of them. ... They don't see themselves as a contender.' When North America was awarded the rights to the 2026 World Cup in June 2018, Carlos Cordeiro, then the president of U.S. Soccer, called it a 'rare and important moment to demonstrate that we are all truly united through sport.' It also guaranteed more eyeballs on the host countries. According to FIFA, the average global live audience for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was 175 million viewers. The final between Argentina and France drew 1.5 billion viewers, dramatically more than the most recent Super Bowl (127.7 million). And with the 2026 World Cup final taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, this was the perfect time to showcase just how far the U.S. men's team has come. Especially with the 'Golden Generation' of players entering their prime. That term — attached to rising stars like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Sergiño Dest, Gio Reyna, Timothy Weah, Antonee Robinson, Matt Turner and Tyler Adams — recognizes what was expected to be the best core in program history. They showed glimpses of brilliance during the 2022 World Cup, a run that ended in the Round of 16, but they were all young. Now, four years older, with experience both internationally and for European clubs, they are expected to help lead a deep World Cup run. But some remain hesitant to say this group can pull it off. To this point, it lacks a true signature win and has come up short in recent competitions. In last summer's Copa América, which the United States hosted, the USMNT failed to get out of the group stage after losses to Uruguay and Panama. The result raised questions about whether this roster was talented enough to get over the hump. 'You can't be a 'Golden Generation' until you do something that hasn't been done before,' Davies told NBC News. Edu said: 'I felt like the 'Golden Generation' tag was coined based on the potential. And now some of these guys are coming into their prime, so that potential has to be realized. Everything, to me, now revolves around what happens next summer.' To help them reach their potential, the program moved on from longtime coach Gregg Berhalter and replaced him with Mauricio Pochettino. His hiring was seen as a huge deal, as Pochettino, who is Argentine, has managed on some of the biggest stages of world soccer: Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. So far, the results have been mixed. He has five wins and four losses in nine games, but the team disappointed in March with two losses in the CONCACAF Nations League Finals. The team has also dropped four games in a row — including a 4-0 loss to Switzerland on Tuesday — though the lineups were far from full strength, with certain stars, like Pulisic, not playing. U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker said Pochettino's 'reputation stands for itself.' It's far too early in the process to critique the job he's done. 'We have a great generation of young players that we want to turn potential into performance, and we couldn't have had and asked for a better coach to come in and have the ability to do that,' Crocker said. 'Now, he just needs to have the time with the players and the games and the experiences to hopefully be ready for next summer, which is our objective.' One year away from the biggest tournament in sports, the USMNT's on-field product is still far from sorted. The most important position to be decided may be goalkeeper. Turner, who started in the 2022 World Cup, is once again expected to have that role. But after a year when he played sparingly as a backup for Crystal Palace, some wonder whether his lack of playing time will have him fit for next summer. Reports this week say Turner has agreed to join the French squad Lyon. Nobody knows goalie play better than Meola, who said, 'There are a lot of questions.' 'In general, we've gone into World Cups either knowing who our No. 1 is or two or three guys battling for the position. That's been the rotation since 1990. This particular group, I think we're unsettled in that position,' he said. If Turner gets consistent action at Lyon, he should be that guy again in 2026. Patrick Schulte, Zack Steffen and Matt Freese are the likeliest next options. Meola's other position group to watch is center back. Out wide, Robinson and Dest are near locks, but the middle of the field is still anyone's guess. Candidates include Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson or Cameron Carter-Vickers. 'There's just too many question marks in the middle of the field at the moment,' Meola said. 'If I'm going to focus on one, that would be it.' Edu and Davies said they want to see how the next 12 months play out at center forward. The USMNT won a hard-fought battle with England to get Monaco's Folarin Balogun (who has dual citizenship), but after him there are many names to consider in Ricardo Pepi, Patrick Agyemang, Haji Wright, Damion Downs and Josh Sargent. 'Even if there's question marks in other positions, if we feel good about the No. 9 position, I think that gives us a hell of a chance,' Edu said. Conrad is similarly focused on the middle of the field, this time at center midfield. Pochettino could go with McKennie, Yunus Musah, Johnny Cardoso, Tanner Tessman, Diego Luna or Malik Tillman. He had one prediction that might shock fans. 'Gio Reyna ... I'll throw him in there, but at this moment I don't expect him to make the team. That's my big shock,' Conrad said. 'I'll put my flag in the ground and say he's got a lot of work to do to get into this team for 2026, which would probably be a surprise to many, but I just think there's other players that are playing well and could fit the system a little bit better at this current moment.' Even though questions abound in the middle, Conrad said he feels great outside. 'I would put our outside backs internationally against anybody,' he said. 'Our strength, in terms of our starters, is Antonee Robinson, Sergiño Dest and then into Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah. I feel confident going up against any nation with our outside players.' This summer, the USMNT has CONCACAF Gold Cup matches followed by friendlies in September, October and November. Players will then compete for their clubs, either in Major League Soccer or abroad, and then return for more friendlies before the World Cup. The final roster, capped at 26 players, will be set 10 days before the tournament. Nobody is more important in that decision than Crocker, the technical director. Previously with English club Southampton and the England national team, he's focused on getting the best product possible on the field by next June. He said questions around particular positions don't really matter because nobody is truly locked in at this point. 'I don't think that exists 12 months out from a World Cup,' he said. 'You're trying to build depth in the squad but also continue to monitor players' performances. We need to know who the best three players are at every position. In the build-up to a major tournament, there will always be a player that hits form; there might be a player that gets an injury. So you've got to be ready.' Twellman, a forward on the national team from 2002 to 2008, said his concerns aren't based solely on the talent level in specific position groups. It comes down to results, and the team simply hasn't gotten enough of them for him to be confident heading into a World Cup. 'There's just a sense of apathy around the United States men's program,' he said. 'And I don't think that's a hot take.' Crocker said he has heard some of the negative discourse around the program but 'can't control the outside noise.' 'Our job, both as staff and as players, is to almost sort of look within ourselves, to continue to work as hard as we possibly can, continue to try and improve in training every day to put the performances in that we need to every day,' he said. 'We would love everybody to be great supporters and start to talk positively about the team, but we'd also know that we have a responsibility through our performances to control that narrative, as well.'
Forbes
21-03-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
USMNT Loss A Reminder Turner Needs To Find A Team To Keep Sharp
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JUNE 23: Matt Turner of United States gestures during the CONMEBOL Copa America ... More 2024 Group C match between United States and Bolivia at AT&T Stadium on June 23, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by) Matt Turner's decision-making on Panama's game winning goal was put under scrutiny. The U.S. men's national team's stunning, excruciating and frustrating 1-0 loss to Panama in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals on Thursday night raised several concerns and worries. That included the team's lack of creativity, it's lack of passion, it's inability to defeat the Panamanians three times in the last nine months on home soil and brining up a nagging goalkeeping problem to the forefront. Should Matt Turner continue as the No. 1 keeper, even though he isn't the regular goalie for Crystal Palace in the English Premier League? The 31-year-old native of Park Ridge, N.J. earned his spurs with superb performances with the New England Revolution before venturing to England in 2022. He couldn't break into the Starting XI with Arsenal and was used sparingly with Nottingham Forest. This season he was loaned to Crystal Palace, where is he primarily used in the Carabao Cup and F.A. Cup. Those games, however, are spaced far apart. For a national team goalie, that is not the best tonic to stay at the top of one's game. Soccer: Closeup of former USA goalie Tony Meola during game vs Brazil during International Friendly ... More at FedEx Field. Landover, MD 5/30/2012 CREDIT: Carlos M. Saavedra (Photo by Carlos M. Saavedra /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X154945 TK1 R2 F8 ) During the post-game telecast, Paramount+ analyst and former USMNT goalkeeper Tony Meola talked about the most important part of a goalkeeper's game. "I go back to and I'm going to say this until we get to the World Cup is sharpness, sharpness, sharpness, sharpness," he said. Meola knows something or two about goalkeeping. A National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, Meola backstopped two World Cups (1990 and 1994) and was a reserve on a third team (2002). He earned 100 caps for the national team. He also was the 2000 Major League Soccer MVP and earned similar honors while leading the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City) to the MLS Cup championship that year. He has been through the grind and a myriad of situations. When a game is tied late in a match, every play and every decision becomes so much more vital and put under the microscope. Case in point: Cecilio Walterman's game-winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Meola talked about the little nuances during the scoring sequence that was replayed for the audience. Waterman, some 16 yards out on the right side of the penalty area, deposited the ball into the lower left corner just past the outstretched right hand of Turner. Meola felt that Turner should have taken another step from the goal to cut down the angle. "I look at the angle that Matt Turner took," he said. "I looked at the distance of the shot, where that shot was taken from. Okay, it was a little bit of pace. There's no doubt about that. I don't want to take anything away from the goal scorer, but in this moment … Matt Turner is a little bit tucked in near that in that near post. I had a perfect angle from my vantage point here. Just a little bit of a hop, just before he takes that. So, his feet aren't planted. He doesn't have some explosion to his right. "At the end of the day, in a moment like this, and I'm not I'm not blaming Matt Turner, but those are moments where you have to find a way. Just like a forward in the end, like [Patrick] Agyemang has to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. Josh Sargent has to find a way. A goalkeeper on the other end of the field has to find a way to make a save." Meola later added: "The toughest thing for a goalkeeper is when you have nothing to do and then all of a sudden you have something to do. That's the sharpness in the end. When you're training every day, it's a rhythm. You've got five, six, seven shots in a row. You're finding timing. Now it's one moment in time. And again, this is not blaming Matt Turner. I look at it from a goalkeepers' lens. If I'm the goalkeeper coach, what do I now tell my goalkeeper to go back and correct?" It's those close margins that decide games, especially at the elite international level. PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 18: Tim Howard of USA shouts instructions during the FIFA ... More Confederations Cup match between USA and Brasil at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on June 18, 2009 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by) Tim Howard backstopped the USMNT in two World Cups. At one time, the U.S. goalkeeping situation was the envy of the planet as the national side had several quality shot-stoppers playing regularly at home and abroad. There was serious competition for the starting job. In the beginning, Meola and Kasey Keller battled for the starting role. Then Brad Friedel entered the picture. Then Tim Howard came of age. There were a host of other talented keepers. That included the likes of Brad Guzan and Nick Rimando, who played at home or across the Atlantic Ocean but never got an opportunity to perform regularly for the U.S. because of their aforementioned rivals. Turner became the latest in the line of succession, starting at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar before falling out of favor with his club coaches. When the EPL season ends in May, Turner will need to decide whether to find a team to play with on a regular basis, whether it is in MLS or Europe. During a Zoom press conference on Monday, March 17, Turner addressed his lack of playing time with Crystal Palace. "I understand that my club situation right now isn't the best, so I have to maybe make some changes in that department if I want to play more consistently," he said. "But again, if I just continue to control the things that I can play well when I have the chances with the U.S, I'll be happy with the hat I can put into the ring." As for more immediate concerns, Sunday's third-place match against Canada (Paramount+, Univision, 6 p.m. ET), Pochettino needs to decide whether to play Turner or one of his two reserve keepers, Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids) or Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew). It might be wise to give Steffens or Schulte an opportunity and let Turner know there is competition for his job. Sometimes a little pressure can be the best motivator. Meola certainly thought so. "I mean, it's a third-place game. I think you've got to give guys opportunities," he said. "If the messaging is there's someone breathing down your neck, that's the messaging you got to give the player. If the messaging is 'I just need to give a guy a chance, then that's the messaging. Hey, we're okay. You gave up a goal. You're our guy.' But I've got to give somebody else an opportunity. So, it's a matter of how Pochettino wants to handle it."
USA Today
23-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
USMNT great Tony Meola recovering after suffering heart attack
USMNT great Tony Meola recovering after suffering heart attack Former United States Men's National Team and MLS goalkeeper Tony Meola is recovering after suffering a heart attack on Thursday. The incident happened one day prior to Meola's 56th birthday. Meola underwent an unspecified procedure following the heart attack. He told Front Row Soccer that he ran four miles last Saturday and had the heart attack five days later. "If I get one of you to go to the doctor and get a checkup, this was all worth it for me," Meola said, according to Front Row Soccer. "I'm going to be fine in a week, but I should have been smarter." Meola was the USMNT's starting goalie in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and was a backup in 2002. He made 101 appearances for the national team and had 35 shutouts. Meola was a four-time All-Star in 11 MLS seasons with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1996-98), Kansas City Wizards (1999-2004) and New York Red Bulls (2005-06). Meola was the regular season MVP and MLS Cup MVP in 2000 when Kansas City won the title. He had 16 regular-season shutouts and added five more in the postseason. Overall, he had 62 clean sheets in 250 MLS starts. In 23 playoff matches, he had eight shutouts.
New York Times
22-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Former USMNT goalkeeper Tony Meola suffers heart attack on 56th birthday
Former USMNT goalkeeper Tony Meola suffered a heart attack on Friday. The 56-year-old suffered the attack on his birthday but has confirmed to The Athletic that doctors say he will be OK. During Meola's 18-year professional career, he made almost 300 professional appearances at club level. Meola spent a brief period in England at the beginning of his career, playing for Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford. Advertisement He kept 63 clean sheets in 250 Major League Soccer games for Sporting Kansas City and New York Red Bulls. Meola made his senior debut for his country in 1988. He made 101 appearances for the USMNT, keeping 35 clean sheets, and represented the team at the 1990, 1994 and 2002 World Cups. Meola won four trophies during his career, including two Gold Cups in 1991 and 2002. Since his retirement in 2007, Meola has also made television appearances with beIN Sports and Fox. He has also appeared on CBS Golazo and Sirius radio. GO DEEPER Canada lands a forward on the rise – one with significant Promise (Russell Cheyne/Allsport/Getty Images)
