"The team feels like we still have something to prove." That's Weston McKennie, not trying to generate headlines, but actually meaning it. Qatar left a mark — and the U.S. men's national team hasn't stopped thinking about it.
The Juventus midfielder will be one of the central figures when the USMNT kicks off their home World Cup campaign in Group F against Paraguay, Australia, and Türkiye this summer. A tournament co-hosted with Mexico and Canada, with the U.S. staging 78 of 104 games. No excuses available. No neutral venue to hide behind.
For McKennie, 27, this is World Cup number two. In Qatar, the U.S. went out in the Round of 16 — their last knockout win dating back to 2002. That's the context that matters here. Not the hype, not the host nation narrative. The simple fact that this group has underdelivered at tournament level and knows it.
Pochettino's effect: no one's seat is safe
The squad dynamic under Mauricio Pochettino is worth understanding. The Argentine took charge in October 2024 and hasn't exactly put up clean results — no Nations League retention, no Gold Cup, no win against European opposition. But McKennie points to something less visible in the results column.
"Nobody can feel like they're 100 per cent secure in their position," McKennie said. "If you want to play, you have to show why. It's not like, 'Oh, just because you're playing at this big club that your spot is secure.'"
That competitive pressure within the squad is precisely what a generation of emerging American talent needs. It also makes the team harder to predict from a tactical standpoint — which isn't always a bad thing heading into a group stage.
The injury situation, though, complicates things. Goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann, midfielder Johnny Cardoso, and forward Patrick Agyemang are already ruled out. Question marks hang over Tanner Tessmann, Christian Pulisic, and Josh Sargent. Lose Pulisic to injury and the USMNT's odds of progressing shorten considerably — he's still the one player who changes games at the highest level.
More than football results
McKennie is clear-eyed about the broader stakes too. Soccer still sits behind American football, baseball, and basketball in the national consciousness — but a deep World Cup run on home soil could genuinely shift that. The 2002 generation inspired the players currently on this squad. McKennie knows this team carries the same responsibility for whoever comes next.
"We're going to have a big influence and big opportunity to change that narrative in America when it comes to soccer," he said.
Whether they can back that up against Paraguay in Group F opener is where the theory meets the pitch.
