{"id":3668,"date":"2026-07-03T17:11:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T17:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3668"},"modified":"2026-07-03T17:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T17:11:41","slug":"former-usmnt-coach-in-my-opinion-its-been-the-best-world-cup-in-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3668","title":{"rendered":"Former USMNT coach: \u2018In my opinion, it’s been the best World Cup in history\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The United States men\u2019s national team has left the Bay Area for Seattle as it prepares for a round-of-16 World Cup match on Monday against Belgium in the Emerald City.<\/p>\n

Read more Word Game: July 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

With one more win, the U.S. will advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since Bruce Arena coached the Americans to the round of eight in 2002.<\/p>\n

Arena, now the coach of the San Jose Earthquakes, was asked this week about the U.S. team\u2019s World Cup run and what he thought of the Americans\u2019 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the crowd was tremendous,\u201d Arena told reporters on Thursday. \u201cThe U.S. team is an experienced group. They know what they\u2019re about, they approached the match the right way and it was a professional win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The knockout-round victory was the U.S.\u2019s second in its history and first since it beat Mexico 2-0 in a round of 16 match 24 years ago. The tournament expanded this summer to 48 teams, which added one more knockout round to the bracket.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one game at a time in the World Cup, and the competition is only going to get tougher,\u201d Arena said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been fortunate with their draw and have faced some teams that I\u2019d say are in the bottom half of the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelgium will be a much stronger opponent, and I don\u2019t even know who would be next after that. The games are only going to get harder. Still, it\u2019s a nice position to be in, playing at home with a little pressure on you. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that. Hopefully they\u2019re successful against Belgium.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Besieged Bay Area investment network seeks bankruptcy shield<\/a><\/p>\n

A victory over Belgium would send the U.S. to a match next Friday against Spain or Portugal at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, rebranded as Los Angeles Stadium for the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Does the team\u2019s former coach have any advice?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy message doesn\u2019t really matter, but we\u2019re behind them and wish them the best,\u201d Arena said. \u201cI picked the U.S. as my sleeper team. At this point, there are 16 teams left, and everyone thinks France is going to win it. Hopefully, the U.S. can meet France in the final. I don\u2019t know exactly how the bracket lines up, but that would be a great matchup.\u201d<\/p>\n

No matter what happens with the U.S. team, Arena is impressed by the manner in which the country has handled the global spectacle. He said it\u2019s much better than when the U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re much further ahead now in terms of how we host major events,\u201d Arena said. \u201cWe have quality stadiums and fields, and we didn\u2019t have that in 1994. I don\u2019t think we put on a great World Cup back then when it came to the playing conditions and overall experience.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis World Cup has been almost perfect. The stadiums are tremendous, the crowds have been tremendous, and in my opinion, it\u2019s been the best World Cup in history. I think you\u2019re only going to see it get even better as the tournament moves forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more How \u2018Country Roads\u2019 became the soundtrack of the US team\u2019s World Cup run<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Jose Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena, who led U.S. to World Cup quarterfinals in 2002, called Americans\u2019 knockout-round victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina \u2018a professional win.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer USMNT coach: \u2018In my opinion, it’s been the best World Cup in history\u2019 - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3668\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former USMNT coach: \u2018In my opinion, it’s been the best World Cup in history\u2019 - 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