How Good Is This World Cup Squad, Really?

Back in 2022, Weston McKennie was one of the last members of the United States men’s national team to amble out of the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, after his team had been knocked out of the World Cup by the Netherlands. Ordinarily, the Texan midfielder is a relentlessly enthusiastic presence in the American locker room. But, at that moment, McKennie was sombre. The U.S.M.N.T.’s World Cup had ended abruptly. The second-youngest team at the tournament—and the youngest by an average of two years during the qualifying slog, before a few older players were added to the roster—had acquitted itself well, tying England and beating Iran to advance from the group stage.