AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The FIFA World Cup is around the corner, and with games being hosted here in the States, the U.S. men's national team is hoping for a historic deep run. Now fans are about to get a good look at what the odds are of that. In a pair of friendly games tomorrow and Tuesday, the U.S. will face the kind of competition that they will have to beat to go far in the World Cup. NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan is in Atlanta and will be at both games. Lucky ducky, Becky.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hello, Ailsa. Yeah.
CHANG: Hello. Hello.
SULLIVAN: It is. I feel very fortunate.
CHANG: OK, so set things up for us. Why are these two games such a big deal?
SULLIVAN: Well. Yeah, I mean, this is the first time the World Cup has been hosted here in the U.S. - it's co-hosted, of course - but for the first time since 1994, so it's an incredible opportunity. But actually, there had been a little panic in the U.S. soccer community a couple years ago because the national team really had a kind of no good, very bad year in 2024 that led to them firing their head coach.
They brought in this kind of hotshot, top European league guy, Mauricio Pochettino. And so things are finally trending up over the course of this sort of last few months and last fall. Their most recent run of five games that started in September, the U.S. haven't lost a match. But they were playing sort of against good but not great teams, so now they're ready for this kind of tougher test.
So they're going to take on Belgium tomorrow, and then on Tuesday, they will play Portugal. Both of those teams are currently ranked in the top 10. And I think a win or even a draw in one or both of these games could be a real reason for some optimism.
CHANG: Some optimism - so it sounds like the men's team is on the upswing, but...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
CHANG: To be totally reasonable here, how excited can fans get about their World Cup prospects, realistically?
SULLIVAN: Well, I think fans should be excited either way. But the best result for the U.S. in the modern era of the World Cup is a quarterfinal. A run that deep generally requires the U.S. to win a big upset. So, like, that quarterfinal run that was back in 2002, they upset Portugal and Mexico in order to get there. They haven't had that kind of big upset win in the World Cup since then.
So I think, you know, goals are win the group stage, then make a run in the knockout round. So quarterfinal is a fine goal, but I think beyond that, like, a semifinal - something like that would be just, like, a core memory for a whole lot of people here in the U.S. And so they're - the team is trying to adopt that sort of why-not-us mentality. That's what Coach Pochettino was saying. He said it again today. 'Cause bigger underdogs have gone that far, so why can't the Americans do it?
CHANG: Yeah. Dream big. OK. So is the roster set? Like, is the U.S. team that we're watching this weekend the one we will see for the World Cup?
SULLIVAN: Not just yet. Yeah, it's closer than what we saw last year. Those rosters last year were sometimes missing some of the team's biggest stars, whether that was because of injury concerns or whatever. Some of those guys are here now, like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. Basically, this is the last set of international games before Pochettino chooses the final World Cup roster. So everyone here is doing the absolute best they can, especially guys who are sort of on the bubble, to make a good impression like midfielder Cristian Roldan. Here's what he said.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CRISTIAN ROLDAN: It's how can I compete, right? How can I put myself in a good spot before the World Cup, put myself in the best spot possible to make that squad? So this is a great opportunity for all of us to test ourselves against some really good competition.
SULLIVAN: And the final roster will be announced in late May.
CHANG: OK. So are you getting excited, Becky?
SULLIVAN: You know, I am. This is really putting me in the vibe. You know...
CHANG: Yeah.
SULLIVAN: Both these games are going to be here in Atlanta. It's the home of U.S. soccer. The games are at the NFL stadium here. Yesterday, I was down there, and I saw them setting up the fan shop with the brand new jerseys, with the waving red stripes...
CHANG: Oh.
SULLIVAN: ...That they unveiled earlier this month. It's all going to be here before we know it.
CHANG: Get one. All right. That is NPR's Becky Sullivan. Thank you, Becky.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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