After the failure of the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America, the United States women’s and men’s national teams have reason to dream again
As summer began, it seemed like the joy of American football had faded.
On the U.S. men’s national team side, Gregg Berhalter had just been fired after his team unexpectedly failed to make it to the Copa América on home soil. It was a major embarrassment, as the U.S. became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stage.
The United States women’s national team was reeling after two semi-disappointing performances in Olympic farewell friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica, all in the shadow of the 2023 World Cup disappointment that also led to a coaching change, with Emma Hayes having just started.
On the Olympic men’s side, Marko Mitrovic’s U23 roster has been widely criticized. Several players excluded have been notable, while a few players included have been less than inspiring. The equation seemed too difficult to solve, with none of these factors adding up to anything resembling a sustainable Olympic run.
Nothing can completely erase the bad aftertaste of last year — the failures of the World Cup and the Copa America — but over the past week, these two U.S. Olympic teams have certainly given their best. U.S. soccer’s journey to the Olympics has gone better than anyone could have hoped, with both teams making their way to this week’s quarterfinals — Friday for the men, Saturday for the women.
It’s a significant step forward for both programs and for American football. The work is far from over, but for now, at least, it gives both teams a chance to win a medal and gives fans something to look forward to again. And after an early summer humiliation, this late-summer series has given the country something even more important: hope.
