All soccer fans have that one FIFA World Cup memory they will never forget. Probably way more than one.
For U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Emma Hayes, it’s Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal for Argentina vs. England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, one that is that widely considered one of the best goals in World Cup history though a heartbreaker for the England native. For USWNT midfielder Sam Coffey and defender Kennedy Wesley, it was the women’s back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019.
For millions of fans, their own defining memory may be created this summer as the FIFA World Cup 2026 takes place in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Hayes, Coffey and Wesley spoke at U.S. Soccer House presented by Bank of America in Venice Beach, Calif., ahead of the USMNT’s tournament opener about the lasting impact this tournament can have on players, fans and the growth of the game in the United States.
“Soccer is truly the global game,” Hayes said. “Whether it's your first (World Cup), your second, your third, your fifteenth, whatever it will be, it sticks with you. It stays with you. It's either going to push someone to go into the backyard and roll the ball out or join a team or push someone to buy a season ticket somewhere because one of the guys became their hero. For those that have worked in soccer in the U.S. know that this, much like ‘94, can have such a seismic impact on the community. The legacy of any World Cup is what you leave behind, and I think in 10 years' time, we will see that this World Cup will continue to have a big impact on this country.”
The tournament's opening days have already provided a glimpse of that impact. The USMNT kicked off play in Group D on Friday, June 12, with an electric 4-1 victory over Paraguay in front of more than 70,000 fans at Los Angeles Stadium. The amazing atmosphere reflected the kind of scene Hayes said she had envisioned years earlier with USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
“I remember when Mauricio and I went to Portland to look at the kit launch a couple of years ago,” Hayes said. “He said to me, ‘What do you think of it?’ and I said, ‘Just visualize this: a sold-out stadium with a wave of red and white greeting whomever is coming into our arena. That feeling of pride for the players as they walk out...’ That's why I'm going to wear my jersey, because I want that feeling for the players when they come out and they go, ‘Hell yeah, we're at home. This is our house.’”
The USWNT will soon get to experience that sense of pride and excitement competing in an international tournament at home in both the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. For now, the team has its sights set on the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, which kicks off in just over a year.
Hayes’ squad returned home last week after playing two matches in Brazil against the host nation – a 2-1 loss in São Paulo and a 1-0 win in Fortaleza – both in World Cup venues. Like the USMNT’s match on Friday in Los Angeles, rowdy crowds filled both arenas to support their home side.
“Emma asked me for one word earlier (to describe the two matches in Brazil), and I said insanity,” Wesley said. “I think that sums it up entirely. It's an atmosphere not comparable to anything I've ever experienced. I think the level of volume was ear-piercing. It was an incredible atmosphere, although it was all against us. It was an experience that I'll never forget, and I think provides us with such good tools going forward.”
Before the team can return to Brazil for next year's World Cup, it must first qualify in the Concacaf W Championship later this year. The USA will face El Salvador in the Quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 27, at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas, with a win guaranteeing a 2027 Women’s World Cup berth.
Even as the women’s team focuses on that path, the players said they plan to support the USMNT throughout its World Cup run — while also imagining what's in store for the women’s side.
“Being a part of U.S. Soccer, we very much so are one family and community, and so we want to be there to support the men's team,” Coffey said, “but it's inevitable that we're going to be thinking about next year. There's something that words just can't describe about the emotions of a World Cup and how surreal it is, and the fact that we get to have one here right around the corner is just so exciting.”
With hosting a World Cup comes tremendous pressure, from the team’s performance on the pitch to everyone behind the scenes making an experience that fans will remember forever. Hayes’ message is to view that pressure as a privilege rather than a burden.
“Pressure is people trying to pay their mortgage or people who are fighting for their lives. That's pressure,” Hayes said. “This is an enormous opportunity and one that very few of us get the opportunity to experience. So, grab it. Life is short."
