IN the US in the 1970s and 1980s, if you told someone you were going to play football they would more than likely think you were talking about American football with touchdowns and quarterbacks. Soccer, as it is called in the US, was not a popular sport 50 years ago like basketball and baseball.

Soccer has grown by leaps and bounds. The professional soccer league in the US called Major League Soccer (MLS), formed more than 25 years ago, has boosted the sport.

The US are now a powerhouse in Concacaf, but that was not always the case. When the US won the bid to host the FIFA 1994 World Cup it created a new fan base and suddenly soccer became a sport of choice. US only competed at three World Cups before 1990, participating in the first two editions in 1930 and 1934, which was followed by an appearance at the 1950 World Cup.

1994 World Cup changed US soccer

Since the 1990 World Cup, US have only failed to qualify once.

At the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva in 2017, a brilliant 30-yard strike by Alvin Jones gave the Soca Warriors a win over the US in a World Cup qualifier. TT won the match 2-1, eliminating the Americans' chances of advancing to the 2018 Russia World Cup.

Qualifying for the 1990 World Cup was not as significant for the growth of soccer as hosting the 1994 World Cup for the US, but the 1990 tournament allowed many Americans to see their soccer team play at the highest level for the first time. Many Americans would have been too young or not even born yet to see the US play at the 1950 tournament.

US travelled to Port of Spain in November 1989 and defeated TT 1-0 courtesy of Paul Caligiuri's goal to seal a spot at the 1990 Italy World Cup. The 1990 US World Cup squad only had four overseas-based players, including Caligiuri. Most of the players in the US team now feature in top leagues throughout Europe.

At the 1994 World Cup, the US public did not only get to see their players in action but seeing the best players in the world would have elevated soccer and increased its fan base. Brazil had Romario, Italy had Roberto Baggio, Argentina had Gabriel Batistuta, Germany had Jurgen Klinsmann, The Netherlands had Dennis Bergkamp and Romania had Gheorghe Hagi.

The world's best soccer players were on US soil.

Fans came out in their numbers as the average attendance was 69,000 during the 52-match tournament.

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California was the largest venue with a capacity of over 94,000.

In a 2019 interview with the Planet Futbol Podcast, 1994 World Cup US player Claudio Reyna spoke about what hosting the World Cup meant. Reyna, who was only 20 during the tournament, said, 'These guys prior to me joined the national team and they were just fighting for respect in this country for soccer players and for the sport. And 1994 was the first chapter of the world waking up to us and taking us seriously.' Reyna was the youngest member of the team.

Since 1994, US have advanced to the knock-out phase multiple times with their most impressive showing coming at the 2002 South Ko