Alex Morgan, a legendary figure in U.S. women’s soccer, won two World Cup titles. Her insights into the U.S. men’s national team’s (USMNT) chances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup are valuable. This tournament is set to take place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, starting this week.
In a recent appearance on “SportsCenter,” Morgan, who retired in 2024, shared her thoughts. “I think that making it to the Round of 16 is probably kind of the threshold for this team,” she said. “If we make it there, and we advance, that’s a huge success. If we make it there and we don’t, I wouldn’t say that it’s a failure by any means.”
She emphasized the advantage of playing on home soil. “We have the momentum, the excitement, and the 12th man energy,” Morgan added. “Also, using the previous World Cups from those 13 players to be like, ‘OK, we’ve been here; we’ve done this before. Now, how can we continue to take this team even further?'”
Morgan referred to the overlap of 13 players from the 2022 World Cup squad that reached the Round of 16 in Qatar, losing to the Netherlands. Christian Pulisic, a key player, recently shared his views with Newsweek. “I just want to look back with zero regrets and feel like we gave everything as a team,” Pulisic noted. He stressed that success isn’t solely determined by how far they advance but by their overall effort and pride.
The USMNT aims to surpass its past performance, having last advanced beyond the Round of 16 in 2002, when they reached the quarterfinals. The team will begin their 2026 World Cup campaign against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, at 9 p.m. ET on Friday night.
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