Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterThe USMNT best World Cup performance came in 2002 when they reached the last eight and former striker Brian McBride says the Class of 26 have to at least match that.McBride played in three World Cups for the USMNT - 1998, 2002 and 2006 - and believes that success this summer will come down to the players sticking together and playing as a team rather than relying on any individual.Getting to the quarter finals is success, McBride exclusively told FourFourTwo. Typically you say getting out of your group is classed as success but I think this time around the quarter finals, because you're at home, would be a success.'USMNT need to reach quarter finals for World Cup to be a success'I think that the squad itself is extremely talented. But it's really going to come down to how much continuity they have and how they fight together and how they get through those hard, gritty periods of a World Cup. If they can do that and stick together and have the same goal, I think they'll do well.Much has been made of the form of AC Milans Christian Pulisic who had not scored a goal for club or country for five months before finding the back of the net against Senegal in last weeks 3-2 friendly win. Pochettinos side followed that up with a narrow 2-1 defeat by Germany. You may like Are USMNT doomed for failure at home World Cup with Mauricio Pochettino's squad selection? USA squad World Cup 2026: Mauricio Pochettino's names his final squad for home tournament Lionel Messi has been fundamental to footballs growth in the US. Hes a benchmark for the opponents in MLS, as they discover what it means to truly compete Mauricio Pochettino on how Messi is raising the standard stateside And McBride does not believe the pressure to perform should solely fall on Pulisic's shoulders and says that other players need to step up as well for the USMNT to have a successful World Cup.McBride, who is now working as Director of Soccer at USL side Brooklyn FC, added: At any World Cup you need high performing players. And if you don't have three or four high performing players, you're not going to be able to achieve the heights that you would.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.So definitely we need Christian to be at his best, but also we need Folarin (Balogun), and we need Weston (McKennie), and Chris Richards to all be at their best too.And then you fill in around with with guys that can make an impact, and you get some success.When McBride was playing up front for the USMNT the one thing he always knew is that there was a top class goalkeeper behind him - whether it be Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel or Tim Howard. But this time around he says there is not a keeper of that calibre in the squad. What to read next USMNT star Christian Pulisic tasked with sink-or-swim 2026 World Cup after disparate domestic campaign How to watch United States vs Paraguay for FREE JULES BREACH: The USA knows how to put on a sporting event and the World Cup is the biggest of them all and there will be no escaping the crazy, gripping, emotional entertainment this summer There is healthy competition between New York City FC's Matt Freese, the New England Revolution's Matt Turner, the Chicago Fire's Chris Brady who are all vying for the No 1 shirt for the USMNT opener against Paraguay at the Los Angeles stadium on Friday.Freese looks like he will get the nod from Pochettino, but whoever it is, McBride hopes they can emerge as a star this summer.He said: I think it's the first time we're going into a World Cup where we don't have a considered world-class goalkeeper. And that's not to say that the guys we have are bad.It's just more, there's more weakness with this goalkeeper pool. Whenever you go into a World Cup you hope that there's going to be two or three surprise players, and I hope one of them's a keeper because we're going to need it.We've seen it at every World Cup that we've done well in, our goalkeeper has saved us a few different times and Im sure that will be the case this time as well.The last time the USA hosted the World Cup was 32 years ago in 1994, and the immediate impact of that tournament was the birth of MLS two years later.This time around with MLS already established, it is projected there are 32 million new football fans in the USA alone and McBride is excited about what this World Cup can do to boost the sport.The former Fulham and Everton striker added: The biggest impact from the World Cup could be the corporate sponsorship. As soon as you have that sort of money coming in then things can change.If you look at the start of MLS in 1996, they had Mastercard and Snickers as sponsors, top Fortune 500 companies. That kind of influx of money allows teams to build infrastructure and to buy better players.For the United Soccer League (USL) to grow and keep getting better players an keep having a better product on the field that is what we need.James AndrewSocial Links NavigationEditorJames Andrew is the editor of FourFourTwo, overseeing both the magazine and website. James is an NCTJ qualified journalist and began his career as a news reporter in regional newspapers in 2006 before moving into sport a year later. In 2011 he started a six year stint on the sports desk at the Daily Mail and MailOnline. James was appointed editor of FourFourTwo in December 2019. Across his career James has interviewed the likes of Franco Baresi, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham and Michael Owen. James has been a Fulham season ticket holder since the mid-1990s and enjoys watching them home and away, through promotion and relegation.
