In past iterations, the U.S. men’s national team would be heading to a tournament like the upcoming Copa América talking about testing themselves against top sides, allowing for hope of a solid showing and maybe a big upset.
The 2024 edition of the USMNT isn’t shying away from more ambitious goals.
Speaking to reporters at the team’s last training session before Saturday’s friendly against Colombia, some of the team’s biggest names were forthright about wanting more than to just put up a good fight.
“We’re gonna put pressure on ourselves to go really far, and hopefully win the thing,” asserted Antonee Robinson. “Out of these friendlies, I want to see us go into both games fearless, and confident in our ability to play, and our ability to hold our own against some of the best countries that are going to be in this tournament.”
Los Cafeteros will provide exactly that kind of test. Colombia has not lost a match since Néstor Lorenzo was appointed the team’s manager just under two full years ago. A team that can beat them can beat anyone in this summer’s tournament.
Any sort of long run at this Copa América more or less requires the USMNT to go through multiple teams of Colombia’s caliber. The U.S. is in the same group with Uruguay, who dismantled Mexico 4-0 on Wednesday.
McKennie: USMNT’s Copa América goal ‘is to win’
Should the USMNT show its mettle in Group C, the odds are that Colombia and Brazil will both be looming in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Get past them, and a final against Lionel Messi and Argentina is a distinct possibility.
One of the major shifts in the USMNT in recent years is how its players discuss a gauntlet like that. A roster with more players starting regularly in the world’s best leagues is a factor, as is the personality types making up the squad.
One of the best examples of that is Weston McKennie, whose 2023-24 was one to remember. Returning to Juventus after a difficult loan spell with Leeds United, the Texas native found himself frozen out in Turin.
Following patterns from the past, McKennie would have aimed lower, landed at a club with fewer expectations and less pressure, and gotten his minutes that way. Instead, the 25-year-old pushed his way into the Juve midfield, becoming a fixture in the Bianconeri lineup by the time October arrived.
That self-belief came through as McKennie held court in the Maryland suburbs Friday, with the USMNT star backing Robinson’s insistence that the object at Copa América is winning a trophy.
“Our goal is always the same whenever we go into tournaments: it’s to win,” said McKennie, who proceeded to calmly lay out a case for the USMNT to push for more than simply putting up a good fight.
“We have players that are playing in big clubs, we have players who are playing against these guys [on top international opponents] week-in and week-out, and have shown success doing it as well. So, I think our goal is to win.
“One of our goals that we set off [with] five years ago is wanting to change the way the world views American soccer, and now to change soccer in America forever.”
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