Q&A: Local soccer coaches share their World Cup predictions — and hopes for the USMNT

For the first time in over 30 years, the World Cup will return to North America, as the United States, Canada and Mexico host the 23rd edition of the event.

The World Cup will kick off on Thursday when Mexico and South Africa face off in Group A, and finish on July 19 with the championship match.

Many viewed the 1994 World Cup in the United States as a turning point for soccer in the country. Following the event, interest in soccer skyrocketed among young people. The inaugural Major League Soccer (MLS) season came in 1996. The U.S. women’s national team won the World Cup in 1999.

Sasho Cirovski was preparing for his second season as head soccer coach of University of Maryland during the 1994 World Cup. He attended World Cup games that year and said the event was a “rocket ship that we need to put us into the soccer space.”

Cirovski (who has now been Maryland’s coach for more than 30 years) and many other local soccer coaches believe this World Cup could result in larger growth and interest among youth in the country.

“What’s happened in the last 30 years has been incredible but I think the next 30 years are going to be even greater because we’re a soccer country now,” Cirovski said. “This is going to add a real big exclamation [point] to what it means for the people in this country, but also what we can mean to the world when it comes to soccer. So I’m excited.”

We talked to two Division I college soccer coaches; the executive director of the Soccer Association of Columbia; a youth soccer organization in Maryland; and a technical director of DC Soccer Club, the biggest youth soccer club in Washington, D.C., for their picks, as well their thoughts on how the U.S. will do and the direction of soccer in the country.

Here’s what they had to say.

Who will in the World Cup?

Craig Blackburn (executive director, Soccer Association of Columbia) — France: “They are the most complete team compared to the others. ... They have [Kylian] Mbappé, who is probably the best player in the world, and they have some really good forwards. They really do have some great attacking players, which is also very exciting for soccer. Everyone says soccer is boring because it doesn’t score a lot of goals, but France does score a lot of goals.”

Eduardo De Souza (technical director, DC Soccer Club) — France: “Their bench is very deep with players that play in major leagues around the world. I think, [of] all the national teams, France is the strongest on that. The second team can also play and compete very well with anyone.”

Phillip Gyau (head soccer coach, Howard University) — France: “They should win. The last World Cup against Argentina, I thought that they were nervous. [Ousmane] Dembélé, you could see that he was nervous, and he was making all sorts of mistakes that he doesn’t make. But now it’s the second World Cup. He’s fully grown. He’s probably one of the best players in the world, if not the best player at this point in time. France is very, very, very dangerous.”

Sasho Cirovski (head soccer coach, University of Maryland) — France: “You have to look at Spain and France as the two favorites. France is, I think their B team could be a Final Four team. Spain is just always an incredibly good team and good in tournaments. ... Here’s the challenge. I would say France, but I’m a little concerned about them because they had so many players play ... in the Champions League final for [Paris Saint-Germain F.C.], and I’m a little worried about fatigue for them. But I would probably say, based on what I’ve seen, France will be the team that I think will win [and] is the best team in the world right now.”

How will the United States perform?

De Souza: “We’ve started to gain more respect. We have players playing abroad now which shows the evolution of our U.S. National Team. ... Soccer, it’s about gaining experience and I think, through other World Cups that we’ve participated in, we’ve gained that experience. So I think U.S. can do very well. At least to the knockout stage, that’s my hope. ... There’s no favorites in their group, but I think they can do well.”

Cirovski: “The U.S. have been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team. It’s a very talented group of players, and I think they’ve had some really good performances, but also we’ve had some really disappointing performances over the last year. So it’s a hard team to predict, but I do know that the American grit and American spirit, I think, is going to shine through. I think that’s what this talented group of players needs to make sure they show up on every single play. And if they do that, and I think we can get to the round of 16 and beyond. I don’t think we have enough quality to go further than that. ... I have some concerns about the center backs and, although I think we have three talented goalkeepers, I’m not sure that any of them are up to the level of the great goalkeepers that we’ve had in the past. I have some concerns there. We have a good front line and we have some tough players in the middle but I just worry about stopping some of these great teams.”

Blackburn: “I hope that they will get out of their group, which I think they will. That would put them in the round of 32. I want them to get to at least the quarterfinal. The round of 16 is probably more expected from my point of view.”

Gyau: “A lot of people, including myself, thought that ’02 team was the best team that we’ve ever had in terms of international play. This group here has a chance to equal that, or go a little bit further. They’re playing at home so they’ve got the wind beneath their wings. It’s up to them, they have to show up well. ... I think they’re going to do well in the group, so they’ll get past the first stage. And after the first stage, depending on who we play, sometimes these games are about matchups. Physically we’re very strong, we’re fast. If we can get, well not France, France is another story. If we can get a good matchup, I think we can move on further.”

What is the key to the U.S. making a deep run?

Gyau — Christian Pulisic: “They all have to defend. At the same time, making sure we’re dynamic enough to get in front of that goal and make things happen. And we’ve got a player that can do that. Christian has shown over and over and over that he can do it. If he’s on fire, we will win because he’s exceptional. I’ve seen him play over the years, he was at [Borussia] Dortmund with my son Joseph. I saw him play under 17. I saw him play with the senior team, and then to see his growth on the national team, he just belongs. ... Let’s say his capacity is 10. If he plays anywhere between eight and 10, we can reach past the second round even.”

Blackburn — Consistency: “They play really well for 85 minutes, and then they have little spells in five minutes, which has cost them. And in soccer, you can’t, you can’t have those little dry spells. ... They have to just be consistent throughout their games.”

Cirovski — Defense: “You have to pitch a shutout. You’ve got to win games 1-0, maybe 2-1, and I just don’t think we’re going to win 3-2 games at this level. This is what I have concerns about, us leaking goals at this point. I think if you’re going to win a World Cup, you have to be at least one of the top four or five teams defensively, or one of the top two or three teams offensively. And I just don’t think that we have the capability to be either of those right now.”

De Souza — Understanding strengths and weaknesses: “You need to understand your strengths. ... Sometimes you need to just put the hats down and say, ‘Look, the other team is better than us. Let’s be honest.’ And then what’s the strategy we’re going to approach with in this game? Can we play a counter attack? Can we sit a little bit more? ... The key for the U.S. is to understand who they play against and the strategies they can use. The U.S. cannot be a team that is just going to have one strategy. They have to adapt accordingly to what they have in front of them.”

Which team do you expect to be the most surprising of the tournament?

Cirovski — Belgium: “Belgium was a very big disappointment in the last World Cup, and I think that they have a chance to maybe be one of the one of the good stories here. ... I’ve seen them in a couple of games this spring. They look really sharp. They look focused. They look like a team that’s got a good blend of really good experienced players, and some really top young talent coming through, which is a good thing to have. They have one of my favorite players in the world, Kevin De Bruyne, leading the charge.”

Gyau — Argentina: “Argentina presses. They press. They press. They are so good with the pressing. Just press, win the ball and just get it to [Lionel Messi] and let him do his magic. ... They’re the defending champions, right? You always have to give the defending champ some respect. Just as long as Messi’s healthy and he’s playing well, I think they also quietly have a chance.”

Blackburn — Canada: “They’ve advanced over the last four years, and I think Jesse Marsch, who’s the coach there, Canada has done a good job on just getting the core players to buy off on his system. I really think that’s the key. ... He’s got them working as a group, and that’s very important in soccer, especially at the World Cup because you don’t have a lot of time with your teams to get them together.”

De Souza — Ecuador and Portugal: “Ecuador has a very, very good team. Their defense is very good. ... They have starting players [defenders Piero Hincapié and Willian Pacho] from those two teams that played in the Champions League [final]. So I think they’re very strong and they can surprise you. ... For me, soccer is always a balance. I think Portugal has the best midfielders in the world right now, and they have Cristiano Ronaldo as well that’s still playing a good role. Overall, having those players in there, that’s the heart of the team is your midfield. If you have a OK defense, a strong defense, but if you especially have a very strong midfield, that can make a difference.”

What young player are you most looking forward to watching in the World Cup?

Blackburn — Lamine Yamal, Spain, FC Barcelona: “He’s 18. He’s just a very, very exciting player. I think the youth of this country will really look up to him because he’s so young, but yet he’s so progressive in his play.”

Gyau — Lamine Yamal, Spain, FC Barcelona: “Everybody is saying, ‘He’s this, he’s that.’ ... He’s doing a lot of things, so many things well. But then the World Cup brings a different pressure. ... Now, it’s up to Yamal to do something. Everyone is telling us he’s the greatest, right? Spain is very good. If he can carry Spain over the threshold, he’s the man.”

Cirovski — Lamine Yamal, Spain, FC Barcelona: “He’s got a little Neymar and Messi to him, that’s a pretty good combination. He’s the one that gets you really excited right now to watch, but I’m also looking forward to discovering some new talent. When you’re busy as a college coach and you’re involved in the day to day with your own team, you don’t get to watch all of the young stars around the world. So I’m looking forward to seeing who really shines.”

De Souza — Danilo dos Santos de Oliveira, Brazil, Botafogo: “Everybody is looking for Yamal for Spain. I think Brazil has a player that we don’t know here in the U.S much. ... This is his first call to the National team and I think he can surprise and become a starter in Brazil.”

What does the US development system need to do to create teams that can compete at the highest levels?

Cirovski: “I think we have maybe lost a little bit of the American grit. We’re still not a top eight country in the world, top 10 country in the world, but in order to break through there, we have to do it collectively. And we have to do it with more than just talent. I think right now we just maybe have lost a little bit of our identity in that sort of ‘we instead of the me’ stuff, because I think we live in a me world, and I think a lot of times players can can go down that path. But I’m hoping that on home soil the collective this summer brings back that extra increment that we might need to get over the edge.”

Blackburn: “The U.S. is kind of in a strange situation because we have so many sports in this country: NFL, NBA, baseball, so it takes away a lot of the good talent. And a lot of these other countries don’t have that kind of pressure with all the athletes being spread around. I think, just continuing the youth development, and MLS is doing a good job at that, but I don’t think we’re quite there yet. But we are developing through the academy programs at the younger levels to have players progress, and I think eventually it will pan out. I think you’ll see in the next two to three world cups that we will either win it or get to the final.”

Gyau: "I’ve been a part of this program for men. What’s wrong with it is like too many leagues. Back in the day, they kept it simple. Soccer is sort of a money-making sport more in America than anywhere else in the world. At the youth level, a coach or a club can make millions of dollars. Parents are paying a lot on the girls’ side and the boys’ side. ... MLS Next is the best [league], but they’re telling you that if you’re not on an MLS academy team, you can’t be on the national team. Well, what about if the player doesn’t have access to an MLS team? They’re far away and they can’t get on an MLS team? You’re not going to select him because he’s not playing on an MLS team? They’ve got to have a bigger umbrella, just to cover everybody, and just make sure that they’re doing it like how we used to. They used to make the state team. They would go on the regional team, then they will go to inner regionals, where all four regions play in Florida, or wherever they might play. The national team coaches there, we select these players and we start to groom them in terms of competition.”

De Souza: “Our scouts need to take a look more in terms of who are the players that they can scout and can be in the U.S. culture, in the style that we play. I don’t think we have a style yet. The U.S., the style is like the coach’s style. We copy a lot of England, to be like England. We have good athletes, but we have to develop a better style. I also think the trips abroad, we [should] take youth players to go play abroad with your national team. Or even a couple clubs go abroad, that would expose our players and show to them what’s out there. I think that exchange would make us very appreciative, and with a more eye open to see what’s around the world.”