The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) is poised to make history by reaching the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals on home soil for the first time since 2002. With a victory over Belgium on Monday, Team USA would join the "elite eight" in the tournament.

John Harkes, a member of the 1994 USA World Cup team, which notably advanced to the knockout stage on home soil, described the current USMNT's progress as a "full-circle moment." Harkes, featured in FOX ONE's "Summer of '94" docuseries, emphasized the importance of sharing the stories of past teams with new audiences to grow the sport in the United States.

Reflecting on the emotional impact of the World Cup, Harkes said, "I was with my son and his wife and our grandson and my wife at the (Round of 32) game, and the national anthem always hits me hard, and the emotions come. You look back on the years that we played and what we contributed to the game back in 1990 and '94."

The 1994 team's success helped ignite a surge in soccer's popularity across the country. This year's team is on a similar path after a thrilling 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, following the 1994 team's knockout stage entry aided by a win over Colombia.

Fans celebrated the recent win at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California, highlighting the growing enthusiasm for soccer in the United States.

As Harkes noted, "When you do something like that, that wakes up a nation," underscoring the potential impact of the USMNT's continued success in the 2026 World Cup.

Sources