Team USA is headed to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in a full-circle minute by John Harkes
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The US men’s national team has a chance to make history on Monday night by reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup in a game played at home.
With Monday’s win over Belgium, Team USA will become one of the “special eight” remaining in the World Cup, making it the longest it has gone since 2002.
Soccer’s popularity skyrocketed when the 1994 USA team reached the playoffs at home, and John Harkes, one of the members of that team, which is the focus of the FOX ONE documentary “Summer of ’94”, believes this year is a “full-circle moment.”
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USA’s John Harkes (6) takes on Switzerland’s Marc Hottiger (2) in a Group Stage A match at the Pontiac Silverdome. Pontiac, Michigan. (John Biever/Getty Images)
“I was with my son and his wife and our granddaughter and my wife at the (Round of 32) game, and the national anthem always hits me hard, and the emotions come through. You look back at the years we played and how much we contributed to the game back in 1990 and 1994. It was great to be here. Thirty-two years from now, these need to tell new stories and are important for us to tell the audience. They need to know the history of the game, and that’s part of continuing education. in our country,” Harkes told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
“We’re always trying to tell those stories the right way and have those platforms. The best way to do that is to win. And now we have guys competing and playing all over the world with great talent, great ability, and we’re seeing it now. But the emotions that come out of the field in these games are unbelievable for me to really control. But I love it. I’m very happy that this is happening and I’m very happy.”
Harkes admitted he feels more “pressure” to try and grow the game in his home country, while competing for football’s most coveted trophy. But it was something they had to “accept.” They did this with the help of defeating Colombia to enter the playoffs, and this year the team is on track to do the same after winning 2-0 against Bosnia and Herzegovina last year.
United States fans celebrate during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match between the USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Alex Pantling – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
LANDON DONOVAN REMEMBERS LIFE-CHANGING MOMENT AT WORLD CUP BETWEEN PLAYERS’ ‘RESPONSIBILITY’ TO GROW GAME IN USA.
“When you do something like that, it wakes up a nation,” Harkes added.
Harkes is now the technical director for McLean Youth Soccer in Virginia and an assistant coach for the USA U15 team, and as the game grows, he wants respectable coaches to grow, too.
“We’re building arenas so these kids can not only have fun and compete but have life skills. We need to be mentors. It’s the teaching you take on, and when you take that responsibility, you’re there for the player, you’re there for the kids, and you’re there for the parents,” Harkes, part of “Yes, Coach!” group, it said. “We’re in a really good situation in every game in this country where coaches need to step in with full commitment, clear communication, and be a good example. If you can be a good example and help other coaches be good coaches where they put the player first, these are the life skills they need, and they need to be able to understand the game and respect the game.
“We see too many coaches who want the idea of winning at all costs. I see them shouting from the side of the kids, and the kids are guessing everything. They are not fun. It’s not a job. It should be a game. It should be fun, to be together as a team, to have a close relationship with you, to raise your friend, to raise your friend, to understand that from your friend, to understand that from your friend, to raise your friend, to understand what your friend said, to understand what your friend said. So when we can teaching the coaches to understand that part and their roles and what they’re doing with these kids is a very important part of the game, and there’s no better platform to do it than right now.”
Harkes knows what the 1994 World Cup did to football, and he knows how much this year’s event can do.
The United States celebrates victory after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between the USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Francois Nel/Getty Images)
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“That summer of ’94, it was amazing. It was unprecedented what we did in ’94, to be honest with you…” Harkes said. “And we’ve got this opportunity now, we’ve created a lot of love for the men’s game. These stories are now preserved from the past. People know who they are. We carry that forward in the game today and what they do on the field. It’s just a complete game. It really is. So a lot of success comes from that. And I’m very happy with what we’ve done now and let our team support the US now and continue to support our team now. Let them go where they can go.”
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