The last time the U.S. men’s national squad reached the World Cup semifinals was in 1930, the inaugural tournament.

The team made a deep run to the last four in the first FIFA World Cup, but ultimately fell short to Argentina.

Since then, no other American squad has finished higher than third place. The closest the USMNT has come to their semifinals run in 1930 was in 2002, when the team reached the quarterfinals.

Now, there is growing belief that the USMNT can make a serious run in the tournament this year. Entering Thursday’s match against Türkiye, the Americans have commanding control over their Group D opponents with a plus-five goal differential.

The squad has scored six goals in their first two games after scoring only three total in the 2022 World Cup.

Former U.S. men’s star Clint Dempsey made an appearance on the Men in Blazers podcast where he discussed some similarities between the 2026 USMNT and the 1930 team.

“It’s going to be a tall order to get to the semifinals like what we did in 1930, but there’s been some similarities in terms of Balogun getting a brace, back-to-back wins. The only time that was ever done was in the 1930s,” Dempsey said.

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“I’m gonna keep dreaming. I’m gonna keep enjoying life and long may it continue as we get into these knockout rounds.”

In 1930, USMNT player Bert Patenaude scored a hat trick. In 2026, Folarin Balogun made history with his two goals against Paraguay in the World Cup opener.

The Americans are set to advance to the Round of 32, which will perhaps be their toughest test of the tournament thus far.