2026 World Cup legacy questioned as pundit says 1994 did more for US soccer

The 2026 World Cup is being widely framed as a success, but one prominent voice in the British media argues its impact on American soccer may fall short of the 1994 tournament. talkSPORT's Andy Brassell said on the network's World Cup Weekender programme that the earlier US-hosted edition did more to grow the game stateside, largely because attending matches was affordable.

The 2026 tournament was staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico and featured an expanded field of 48 teams. Stadiums appeared to fill consistently, and the United States men's national team, coached by Mauricio Pochettino, reached the Round of 16, which helped drive interest through the opening weeks of the competition.

A tournament widely judged a success

Broadcast figures reinforced that impression. FOX Sports secured the English-language US rights for a reported $485 million, a bet that the source material describes as paying off several times over, with viewership outpacing previous editions. Former long-serving US Soccer president Alan Rothenberg went further, saying he expects soccer to overtake the NBA, MLB and NHL in the United States within a decade and become the country's second most popular sport, citing steady growth at MLS and NWSL level and rising interest from streaming and linear broadcasters.

The affordability argument

Brassell's counterpoint centres on access rather than audience size. He said long-standing American soccer supporters regard 1994 as the moment the sport broke through, in part because tickets were within reach for people experiencing a World Cup for the first time. He described the cost of attending 2026 matches as prohibitive, arguing that it made a first-time experience difficult for many fans and calling that outcome sad.

• 2026 World Cup: 48 teams, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico
• USMNT reached the Round of 16 under head coach Mauricio Pochettino
• FOX Sports paid a reported $485 million for English-language US broadcast rights
• Alan Rothenberg expects soccer to become the No. 2 sport in the US within a decade
• Brassell says 1994 was more accessible and did more for grassroots growth

Brassell also questioned what is meant by taking American soccer to the "next level", suggesting the phrase often describes a large commercial market that outside interests want to tap rather than a purely sporting ambition. He noted that the US already has a substantial and established soccer community.

The debate over legacy is likely to continue long after the final whistle, with ticket pricing, grassroots participation and domestic league growth all serving as measures of whether the 2026 edition leaves a lasting mark on the sport in North America.