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The U.S. men’s national team has an opportunity to make history Monday night by reaching the World Cup quarterfinals in a game played on their home field.
With a win on Monday over Belgium, Team USA will be one of the “elite eight” left at the World Cup, making it the furthest they have reached since 2002.
Soccer’s popularity skyrocketed when Team USA reached the knockout stage on home soil in 1994, and John Harkes, one of the members of that team that is the focus of FOX ONE’s “Summer of ’94” documentaries, believes this year is a “full-circle moment.”
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USA’s John Harkes (6) in action against Switzerland’s Marc Hottiger (2) during their Group A match at the Pontiac Silverdome. Pontiac, Michigan. (John Biever/Getty Images)
“I was with my son and his wife and our grandson and my wife at the (Round of 32) game and the national anthem always hits me hard and the emotions come. You look back at the years we played and what we contributed to the game back in 1990 and ’94. It was huge to be here. Thirty-two years from now because those are the new really important stories for us to know and that’s the new crowd to know. They need to know the history of the game and that’s part of the education that goes on in our country, Harkes told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
“We’re always trying to tell those stories the right way and have those platforms. The best way to do that is to win. And now we have guys competing and playing all over the world with great talent, great skill, and we’re seeing them now. But the emotions that come out into the stadium at these games are unreal for me to really control. But I love that it’s happening. I’m just so happy that this is happening.”
Harkes admitted to feeling the added “pressure” of trying to grow the game in his home country, all while competing for football’s most coveted trophy. But it was something they had to “accept”. They did so by defeating Colombia to enter the knockout stages, and this year’s team are on course to do the same after last week’s thrilling 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
USA fans celebrate during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match between the USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Alex Pantling – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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“When you do something like that, it wakes up a nation,” Harkes added.
Harkes is now the technical director at McLean Youth Soccer in Virginia and an assistant coach for the USA U15 team, and as the sport grows, he wants respectful coaches to grow as well.
“We’re building platforms for these kids to not only have fun and compete, but also have life skills. We have to be mentors. It’s a mentorship that you take on, and when you take on that responsibility, you’re there for the player, you’re there for the kids, and you’re there for the parents,” Harkes, part of the “Yes, Coach!” team, said. “We’re in a really good situation right now across the game in this country where coaches have to step in with full responsibility, clear communication and be good role models. If you can be that good role model and help guide other coaches to be good coaches where they put the player first, those are the life skills they need and they need to be able to understand the game and respect the game.
“We see too many coaches who want a win-at-all-costs mentality. I see them yelling from the sidelines at kids and kids second-guessing everything. They’re not even having fun. It’s not work. It’s supposed to be a sport. It’s got to be fun, for them to be together as a team, to have camaraderie, for your friend and to understand what camaraderie, for your player, means. So the more we can guide coaches to understand that part and their roles and what they do with these kids is the most important part of the game and there’s no better platform than to do it right now.”
Harkes knows what the 1994 World Cup did to football, and he also knows how much more this year’s event can do.
The United States celebrates victory after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Francois Nel/Getty Images)
“That summer of ’94, it was unbelievable. It was unprecedented what we did in ’94, to be honest with you…” Harkes said. “And we’ve got this opportunity now, we’ve created so much passion around the men’s game. These stories are now preserved from the past. People know who they are. We bring that into the game today and what they do on the court. It’s just a perfect match. It really is. So there’s a lot of success coming out of it. And I’m really excited about what we’ve done in the past and now, so we’ve allowed ourselves to be done in the U.S. keep and push them as far as they can go.”
