Kolkata: In 1977, Pele predicted the success of soccer in the United States, and nearly 50 years later, the country has made history by scoring four goals in a World Cup match. The USA's victory is a testament to the growth of the sport in the country, which has been fueled by investment in infrastructure, rule changes, and the arrival of big-name players like Lionel Messi.
The USA's squad has 16 players from Europe's top five leagues, with five in the Premier League and Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie playing for AC Milan and Juventus respectively in Serie A. This has given the team a lot of confidence, knowing they play against some of the best players in the world week in and week out.
However, the journey to this point has not been smooth. The North American Soccer League folded in 1984, and it wasn't until 1996 that Major League Soccer (MLS) began. MLS has had its share of mis-steps, but the turnaround began in 2006 when the Red Bull Group invested in the New York team.
Today, MLS has 30 clubs, including three in Canada, and a collective value of $23 billion. The league has added seven teams and nine stadia since 2018 and has a media partner in Apple. The Nielsen study says USA has 62.5m football fans, the fourth largest in the world, with 76% of them millennials.
