Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer?
Well, better at men's soccer. Can a World Cup at home finally be the breakthrough for the USMNT?
The World Cup kicks off on Thursday, and we hope our World Cup predictions page will give you everything you need to follow the tournament. We’re monitoring injuries and friendlies as our model makes last-minute adjustments. And we’ll update the forecast after each match day to show you how the games affect everyone’s advancement and championship odds.
It’s been a satisfying few months as a sports fan. “My” Knicks have their best chance at a championship since 1973 . And Jack Hughes’s overtime winner over Canada in the Gold Medal Match in Milan represented a triumph for the men’s hockey team.
So is it too much to ask that this is also the year when the U.S. men’s soccer team breaks through, with the World Cup set to kick off this week on North American soil? 1
The 23 previous hosts 2 have a pretty good track record, with 6 outright wins (though none since France in 1998). Another 7 hosts made at least the semifinals. So an optimistic spin on this data might suggest that the U.S. has a 50/50 chance of making the final four, something we haven’t done since the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
But that’s not what the smart money thinks. Prediction markets give the U.S. only a 10 percent chance of reaching the semifinal. No spoilers, but our forecast is in the same broad range.