The former captain of the US national team sees the home World Cup as a unique opportunity: “Passing the group is no longer enough. Winning? It’s not a very distant goal”
Carlos Bocanegra knows what the World Cup means. He played in two, 2006 and 2010, both as captain of the USA. He knows that this Pochettino-branded national team with stars and stripes, as much as it has grown, must have a broader horizon than just passing the group. And he also knows what the World Cup is really doing to the USA: it’s not just the people in the squares or stadiums, that contagious support and that discovery of soccer that also lands on national TV. It’s what can come after the real prize, the push to take that last step that America’s football has been waiting for for a few years: that the World Cup can not only be hosted, but also won.
Bocanegra, USA-Paraguay was the most watched World Cup match ever on US TV: what does it mean?
“The best part of having a World Cup at home is that even people who aren’t interested in football are interested in it. We’ve been preparing for eight years: in the last two we’ve raised the level, last summer the Club World Cup was a sort of preview of what was to come. We’ve grown as a footballing country.”
Are you surprised by the interest around the World Cup?
“Not so much, actually. Because America has grown so much since USA ’94 and now there are many people for whom football is relevant. This World Cup allows us to make it known to even more people.”
President Trump has said he expects the US to win. Realistically, what would be a good outcome?
“I think the standards of the US national team have changed, and with them the expectations. Now we have had a pro championship for 32 years, we have an academy system that has been in existence for at least 15 years, capable of developing players. We have infrastructure, resources. For all these reasons, being satisfied with passing the group can no longer be enough, also because raising the bar is the only way to take the next step.”
“We want to be considered like England, Spain, Brazil, Holland and Italy. And therefore we must raise expectations, understand that passing the group must be a given, that we must aim to win at least a couple of direct elimination matches. Maybe in 15 years, after this World Cup has given us another push in making children fall in love with football, in improving the development of young people and in training them better, we could legitimately think we can win it, the World Cup. To be at that level. This is what I hope this event will do to the country.”
To do this the USA needs the best Pulisic.
“I think he had a difficult second part of the season after a great start. He’s a great player: he can target the man and when he feels good and has confidence he can win you games. It’s an important part of what we want to do and he showed it straight away. But this World Cup is confirming that you can’t have just one star.”
“Weston McKennie played a great game: I know you know him well in Italy, but here in his role he has more freedom, he can attack the area and move where he wants, which allows him to excel. We have Malik Tillman and Tyler Adams, we have Floriana Balogun who scored two goals. As a national team we have always had athleticism and work ethic, but now we see players who have had the opportunity to grow and understand how to play at a high level.”
Will it be enough to get ahead?
“I think that in the elimination phase, when we face high-level teams, it will be the real test to understand where we are at. However, this is one of the most talented generations of the US national team ever: if they can continue to play matches in which everyone plays well, I think this can become a hugely successful World Cup for us.”
Impressions of the tournament, now that all the teams have played a match?
“Oh, it was fun. I like the favorites who overcome their limits, like Cape Verde with Spain who I saw in Atlanta. Morocco was impressive, picking up where they left off. Messi impressed everyone and I’m happy to have seen Thiago Almada alongside him, who I brought to Atlanta when I was manager there. It was nice to see the matches, nice to see football always on TV here too.”
Who do you think can win?
“I think France showed their quality. I liked Morocco, but I think Brazil can still be dangerous, once they find their rhythm. I think it will be interesting to see what happens in the quarter-finals in Boston and New York, when it will be hot and the weather becomes a factor. It could even be decisive.”
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