1994 World Cup pushed U.S. soccer into a new era

U.S. Soccer turned the 1994 World Cup into a long-term bet, creating a residency system for non‑professionals and driving the U.S. men’s team toward success defined by escaping the group. The run—draws, a stunning win over Colombia, and a knockout loss to Braz

CHICAGO — On the eve of the biggest tournament on the planet, the U.S. men’s national team carried a lesson they didn’t need explained. They knew they weren’t going to outspend soccer’s traditional giants from Europe and South America. They also knew what was at stake wasn’t a single trophy.

The goal, as players on the 1994 squad later put it, was to stop U.S. soccer from getting stuck in a holding pattern—and to make sure the sport didn’t get crushed under the weight of one embarrassing outing.

“Somebody said it the other day. `We could have (screwed) up soccer if we don’t get out of the group. ‘” Marcelo Balboa said on June 6. when members of the ’94 team were recognized before the current USMNT’s last game before the World Cup. “If we got blown out in those three games, who would have known what happened with soccer?”.

Balboa, a defender on that roster, framed the moment as a fork in the road. “We could have either made soccer or broke soccer,” he said.

For decades, soccer in the United States lived in pockets—often tied to communities with large immigrant populations. Even when the USMNT found success at the World Cup, the wider culture didn’t fully catch fire. The team reached the semis in the inaugural tournament in 1930. stunned England in 1950. and ended a 40-year absence with a World Cup return in 1990. But baseball, basketball and football remained dominant.

The sport did have a growing pipeline at the youth level. Beginning in the 1970s, soccer became a “beginner” option for U.S. school kids. On weekends, parks and schoolyards filled with grade schoolers playing. Yet for many of those kids who kept going, the path narrowed fast. There was no professional outdoor league in the United States. and the number of Americans drawing interest from overseas clubs was minimal.

Then came 1994, and with it, a deliberate response from U.S. Soccer.

Knowing the USMNT couldn’t afford a mediocre performance—let alone an embarrassing one—U.S. Soccer created a residency for players who weren’t playing professionally. For more than a year, about 40 players lived and trained together in Southern California.

Cobi Jones, who made the first of three World Cup teams in 1994, described the pressure in plain terms. “There was a lot of pressure,” he said. “We understood that there was an opportunity to help build this sport. and you didn’t want to stumble or flounder when all this attention was going to be on the sport. was going to be on the team.”.

Jones added: “You didn’t want to mess up. You didn’t want to screw it up.”

For the group-stage plan to work, the USMNT needed one outcome: get out of the group.

That wasn’t guaranteed. Colombia and Romania had both reached the Round of 16 in 1990, and Colombia featured Carlos Valderrama—still aging, but still Carlos Valderrama.

The U.S. opened the tournament with a draw against Switzerland. In the second game, they stunned Colombia. Andres Escobar’s own goal would have been enough by itself, but Earnie Stewart also added an insurance goal.

The U.S. lost to Romania in the group-stage finale. Still, the team advanced to the knockout rounds as one of the best third-place teams.

“We bled, we fought, we scratched, we found ways to get out of that group, which surprised everybody, through Columbia,” Balboa said.

Brazil stopped the run in the Round of 16, beating the Americans on the way to winning its fourth World Cup title. But the effect in the United States lasted far beyond that loss.

“All we wanted to do was set up a foundation for soccer,” Balboa said. “We knew we weren’t going to be around for a long time. but if we could lay a foundation in ‘94 — to what the standard was. what we thought it would be and that’s getting out of the group. then every other generation could build on it.”.

What followed looked like growth with momentum. Major League Soccer began play two years later, while the number of Americans in Europe slowly grew. The World Cup returned to the United States for the women’s tournament in 1999, and fans gave the U.S. women’s national team rock-star treatment.

By 2002. the USMNT had players—Landon Donovan. Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna—who any European team would have taken. and it reached the World Cup quarterfinals. By 2018. the expectations had risen to the point that failing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia was considered a national embarrassment.

Now, in 2026, the conversation has returned to the next step. The USMNT has a “golden generation” featuring Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah.

Stewart, who scored in that 1994 win over Colombia, said the long view is visible in infrastructure and opportunity. “Soccer in the United States has grown amazingly,” he said. “You see where it is today … all these soccer specific stadiums, you have all these players playing overseas in really good leagues. So that says a lot.”.

The difference in stakes is clear. How the U.S. team fares at this World Cup won’t make or break soccer in the same way 1994 did—but it will shape whether the sport gets another surge like the one that followed that run.

Eric Wynalda put it more directly, with excitement that still sounds earned. “I really think our guys are ready,” he said. “And are going to give us one hell of a ride.”

1994 World Cup USMNT Christian Pulisic Cobi Jones Marcelo Balboa Earnie Stewart MLS Eric Wynalda Tyler Adams Weston McKennie Tim Weah soccer in the United States U.S. Soccer residency