Is the USMNT playing in the Copa América a big deal? Christian Pulisic sure thinks so.

"It’s one of the biggest international competitions we can play in," Pulisic said as the U.S. prepared to face Colombia in its first pre-tournament warmup game.

Christian Pulisic will be one of the U.S. men's soccer team's biggest stars when it plays in the Copa América this summer.Read moreJulio Cortez / AP

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published June 7, 2024, 4:22 p.m. ET

BETHESDA, Md. — For any American soccer player, the World Cup is the pinnacle of the game. But for players from other countries, it isn’t the only major national team competition.

Europeans play in the Euros, with the next edition starting in a week in Germany. The Union’s Dániel Gazdag will represent Hungary, becoming the first active Union player to be part of the tournament.

African players have the Africa Cup of Nations, where the Union’s Olivier Mbaizo has played for Cameroon and former Union player Jamiro Monteiro played for Cape Verde. There was one this past February, sadly without Mbaizo involved.

South Americans have the Copa América, which the U.S. will guest-host this month for the second time. Usually a 10-team event, this edition will have an expanded field with six teams from North and Central America. Two or three Union players will take part: José Andrés Martínez with Venezuela, Damion Lowe with Jamaica, and Andre Blake with Jamaica if he’s healthy.

Teams from this continent have their own championship, the Concacaf Gold Cup, but it isn’t as big a deal. There are many reasons why, and the easiest way to explain it is this: it’s every two years instead of every four, many of its teams historically haven’t been great, and the U.S. and Mexico often send prospects instead of stars. (The biennial schedule is part of why.)

How does this Copa América compare? On paper, it should matter a lot, especially to the U.S. team. It’s a rare chance to play against South American powers on home soil: Uruguay in the group stage, likely Brazil and/or Colombia in the knockout rounds, plus warm-up games against each of those two teams.

These games will likely be some of the toughest tests the Americans face before cohosting the World Cup two years from now. As host nation, they don’t have to qualify, which takes a lot of games of consequence off the calendar. But the rest of the world will go about its business, which means there won’t be many chances to face big-time opponents, especially from Europe.

‘This is what we play for’

U.S. players know this well, and three of the team’s top stars said so Friday.

“The Copa América, I mean, it’s one of the biggest international competitions we can play in,” said Christian Pulisic, the Hershey-born biggest star of all, on the eve of Saturday’s game vs. Colombia at the Washington Commanders’ NFL stadium (5:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, Telemundo 62, Universo, Max, Peacock).

Pulisic played in the 2016 edition, the first time the Copa came to the U.S. It was his first major tournament, age 17 at the time but already a phenom. Though he played in just three of the Americans’ six games, the 25-year-old winger said he still has “special memories” of the big crowds and marquee opponents.

That sense of spectacle is something else the U.S. men don’t get to feel on home soil too often. Big World Cup qualifying games are usually played in MLS teams’ stadiums, mostly smaller than NFL venues, to ensure a home-field advantage, and Concacaf tournament attendance can be hit-or-miss.

If the Copa fulfills its potential — and we’ll see if it does, as there’s been a notable lack of marketing so far — it should feel like a big deal.

“We love games like this — this is what we play for, competitions like this,” Pulisic said. “We want all the big crowds, we want the big games, the big stadiums, the big teams. That’s what you live for as a soccer player.”

Not afraid to dream big

Like Pulisic at Italy’s Milan, Dallas-area native Weston McKennie has grown used to life on European club soccer’s big stage with Italy’s Juventus. McKennie has long been one of the U.S. team’s most outspoken players about his and the team’s ambitions, and he went there again at Friday’s practice.

“It’s on American soil, so it’s perfect for us to showcase our abilities right here in a big tournament,” the 25-year-old midfielder said. “One of our goals that we set off for five years ago is wanting to change the way the world views American soccer, and now to change soccer in America forever.”

This summer, he added, “will give a good starting point for us to bring new fans, bring a new type of people to the game, let them see how it is, and we get a good feeling and more people behind us as well.”

For midfielder and captain Tyler Adams, whose club home is England’s Bournemouth, the Copa “feels big — it’s not quite the World Cup, but I think it’s the next best thing.”

The last time the U.S. played a big-time opponent, it was Germany last fall. Adams missed the game because of a hamstring injury, and the team clearly missed him in a 3-1 loss.

Now he is here, healthy, and ready for the moment.

“You don’t go win a tournament without beating big teams,” Adams said. “So for me, I think from an individual perspective, I would love to beat big teams. We just haven’t the opportunity to play against too many yet.”