USA have built a brotherhood capable of beating Netherlands at the World Cup
The first time I realized that soccer was the world’s game was in 1978. I came home one day from playing soccer and I saw my father standing on the living room table and screaming at the television. He was wearing an orange shirt, drinking a bottle of something and eating what looked like herring in a jar. I realized he was watching the World Cup final, Argentina against his beloved Netherlands (we have Dutch roots). My father wasn’t a big drinker, but he was intoxicated both with what he was drinking and watching. My mother was in the other room shaking her head, as if to say, “I can’t condone this.”
In the course of the game, my father’s demeanor went from elation to sorrow to depression to “get away from me.” It wasn’t until a month later at dinner that my mother finally slammed her hand down on the table and said to my father: “David, talk to your son”, meaning my brother. See, the problem was my brother’s name is Brandt. And Ernie Brandts was the Dutch centerback responsible for one of Argentina’s goals. My father has not spoken to my brother for the entirety of that summer until my mother finally begged him. My brother smiled, my father realized his behavior was completely outlandish, he hugged my brother and it was over. But in that moment, I realized that this sport can touch people deeply, beyond reason and comprehension.
I also bring up the 1978 World Cup because it was held in Argentina for all the wrong reasons – it was a reinvention of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Watching the tournament today in Qatar, our sport takes on all of the world’s problems during the tournament because it’s one of the few times the world comes together. The World Cup is a celebration of a sport that we love, but it’s also a constant reminder of the things that we hate in this world. As much as I’d like to see the headlines be about who scored and who assisted, unfortunately it’s also about who has intervened in a politically charged issue that has nothing to do with the play on the field.
After all that, the US have beaten Iran and will compete against the only other team I love, the Netherlands. This will be a World Cup that I will always remember not for what has transpired off the field, but because I think the US can go further than we ever have before. I’m predicting a victory against the Netherlands.
For all their flaws, the United States still have all the right energy and all the right weapons to win games. In Matt Turner we have one of the best goalkeepers in the tournament. We have what could be the best defense, only conceding one goal, and none from the run of play. We’ve taken on two of our greatest historical adversaries and have not lost. We have a captain in Tyler Adams who has made us more proud to be American than I could’ve ever imagined. I don’t know what I’m more proud of, his press conference or his play.
And we have Christian Pulisic, who has been punished for being an exceptional American player. He’s been scrutinized by the press so much that it’s hard to trust my eyes anymore when I watch him because the expectations were way too high – yet he still delivered the crucial goal that allows this team to chase destiny.
Preparing for the knockout stage can be a different experience. Every single player in the squad wants to be on the field. I didn’t get the chance in 1994, when we reached the second round. I was taken out of the starting lineup. That was the worst day of my life. Not just my professional career – my life. To be told that I was not going to play Brazil in the World Cup, on the Fourth of July, in Palo Alto, was crushing. Maybe that’s why I’m so passionate about Gio Reyna getting on the field: I lived it myself.
As this team moves forward, my advice is, don’t kill the vibe. Just be positive every day. Smile. This is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity.
This is a team that can reel someone back in if he steps out of line when he’s having a bad day, and remind him what the ultimate objective is. They’re brothers out there. Gregg Berhalter has done such a great job building the culture of the US team, which is sorely needed.
And he built this culture in the midst of the pandemic. They couldn’t be together, but he kept them together. That was really, really smart. In Qatar, we’ve finally been seeing the results of that.
Taking in all the beauty and pageantry of the World Cup and trying to focus on what’s really important on the field will be their challenge. America has always been regarded as the land of opportunity. This is our chance to take an opportunity that’s been given to us. I finally think this is a worthy team that’s up for the challenge. Later in life, I learned that the herring my father was eating as he watched the World Cup is a Dutch tradition to bring good luck. The US won’t need luck on Saturday – we just need to play, believe, and always remember the last line of our anthem: “home of the brave.”
OK, a little luck wouldn’t hurt. But I’m not going to eat that herring.
Eric Wynalda scored 34 goals in
106 appearances for USA and played at three World Cups. He is now a broadcaster.