The United States men’s national soccer team had a rough 2024, continuing into the start of 2025.
Clint Dempsey, the team’s t-all-time goal scorer, feels less than confident about the team’s prospects for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“If I’m being honest, I’m a little worried about the team right now,” Dempsey said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. “If you look back at the last World Cup, it looked like things were moving in the right direction, and they were going to go on and take it to the next level.
“But then you look at Copa América being the first host country to not get out of the group stage, that was a disappointment. You look at CONCACAF Nations League losing to Panama in the semifinal game, and then losing to Canada right after that — just the way in which we played, it doesn’t really inspire you.”
Dempsey pointed to the Gold Cup as the squad’s last major chance to prove itself before the United States — together with Canada and Mexico — hosts the World Cup in 2026.
The Gold Cup, which runs June 14-July 6, will primarily be played in the U.S. Arlington’s AT&T Stadium will host four group stage matches, including U.S. vs. Haiti on June 22.
Houston’s NRG Stadium is the site of the final.
“Anything less than getting to a final is a failure,” Dempsey said about the Gold Cup. “They need to inspire this fan base to get behind them.”
The East Texas native highlighted goalkeeper as an area of concern.
“When you think about the history of the U.S. men’s national team, they had a goalkeeper that was playing week in and week out at a high level and in Europe,” Dempsey said. “Think about Brad Friedel. Think about Kasey Keller. Think about Tim Howard. These are guys playing week in and week out, and we don’t have that right now.”
Similarly, he lamented the team’s lack of a striker who plays consistently for a European club and is a proven goal scorer.
“You’ve had some injuries and some setbacks there, and no one’s really kind of claimed that position for a year or two years now, in of really solidifying that spot,” Dempsey said of having a true No. 9. “I think that’s what we were missing in the last World Cup and I think we’re still missing now.”
Despite his concerns, Dempsey expects the team to get out of its current rut.
“I think this team is best when their backs are against the wall, I think they will get things turned around,” Dempsey said. “I’m a big fan of this team because it’s the U.S. men’s team, it’s the team that I grew up wanting to play for, and my kids watch these games and want to play for as well. So I want them to do well, and hopefully they can bring about something that the U.S. men’s team did in ’94 in of growing the game and putting it in a better place.”
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