It's the phrase on that is front of mind for every United States men's national team fan: "Signature win."
It has become an obsession. This group needs to beat someone elite. Mexico and Canada are good - Canada, at the moment, are very good. But the USMNT needs to aim higher. At least, that's what Taylor Twellman thinks.
"What is their landmark win? What is their signature win with the national team? I don't think they have that yet," Twellman tells GOAL. "It's got to come at the international level. And by that I mean not against any CONCACAF opponent. So in my opinion, it's got to be against someone ranked in the top 10."
And that would seem to be a tough ask. The USMNT doesn't play that caliber of opponent very often. In fact, the only opportunity on the horizon will be in the 2026 World Cup, held on home soil. No pressure there. But for Twellman, it's an meaningful opportunity. An expanded tournament, 48 teams, 16 groups. Win your easy games, get a fortunate draw, and you could be off to the races. A quarterfinal, set by Mauricio Pochettino as a clear remit, is more than realistic.
"The pool is diluted," Twellman says. "It's not 32. I love the World Cup, and I would have never changed it. But the fact that it's 48 I think, I think the bare minimum is a quarterfinal."
Twellman is now in his 15th year covering soccer in the U.S. He has played for the USMNT 30 times, won MLS MVP and taken home the golden boot twice. There is arguably no one in this media landscape that understands American soccer better. And he knows that with 15 months to go until a World Cup, the storylines will only get more enticing.
Twellman weighed in on the USMNT and World Cup expectations for Christian Pulisic and the Americans in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
NOTE: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.