Eyeing Future World Cup Success, U.S. Soccer Uplifting Young Stars For LA Olympics

When a new generation of blue-chip teenagers recently led the U. men's soccer team to four convincing wins in its first four games since capturing the imagination of the American public during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, optimism about the program's future surged among USA fans old and new.

Perhaps nobody was happier about how Cavan Sullivan, Julian Hall and the rest of the youngsters fared than U. Helfrich, who has overseen the federation's day-to-day operations since January, and CEO JT Batson made the decision to sign coach Mauricio Pochettino to a new four-year contract following the Stars and Stripes' stirring run to the World Cup round of 16.

And it was Helfrich who spearheaded the successful recruitment of three-time former U. World Cup defender Steve Cherundolo, an MLS Cup-winning coach with LAFC in 2022, to lead the American men at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

women, of course, have won gold at five of eight Olympic tournaments, including in Paris in 2024. The men are aiming for their first.

"Medaling is very realistic," Helfrich told me last week during a 30-minute interview. For all the "Why not us?" talk over the summer, the miracle the U.

needed to win the 2026 World Cup never materialized. The Americans showed that they weren't in the same class as Belgium, let alone Argentina or France or champions Spain.

In a century's worth of World Cups, only eight nations have ever won it. It's primarily an under-23 event, for starters, with three overage players per team permitted.

Mid-major national teams around the same caliber as the U. have won it on multiple occasions in the past, most notably chief rival Mexico in London in 2012.

LA28 will feature a 12-nation men's tournament. If the hosts advance from group play, they'd be just one knockout-stage win from the medal round.