I was part of the 1994 U.S. World Cup squad but noone knew who I was

The Stars and Stripes are showing signs that they could be competitive under high-profile new coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Lionel Messi's arrival in MLS has taken soccer to new levels of popularity - but it has not always been that way.

The last time the USA hosted the men's World Cup in 1994 the players were under a different kind of pressure.

It turned out to be a watershed moment and 96-cap USMNT star Alexi Lalas shared his experiences with Soccerex.

"There was definitely a Wild West type of aspect and a pressure. We felt the future of our game rested on us having a successful World Cup, whether it's us as players and as a team being successful on the field, which we were, or off the field from hosting it," he said.

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"And I think there are people that I still walk down the street today that will come up to me and say, that is when things changed for me. Either they weren't soccer fans and they became soccer fans, or they were soccer fans, but it was kind of niche and underground, and it finally came above ground.

"Just to give you a quick story to graphically show where we were. A couple weeks before the World Cup in 1994, I get on the plane. I sit in my middle seat in economy because that's how we traveled as a national team back then.

"I sat next to an older woman. We struck up a conversation, and she said, 'Well, what do you do?' I said, well, 'I play soccer.' And she said, well, 'What's your job?' And I said, 'I play soccer.' She said, well, 'What do you do for money?' I said, well, 'I play soccer.'

"Two weeks later, I'm in front of a billion people. But that's just to give you an idea of where it was."

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If the 1994 World Cup put soccer on the map in the States, 2026 has the chance to take the sport into the stratosphere.

"We have come a long way in terms of the reality and the perception of the game," Lalas added.

"And I'm just looking forward to 2026 because I think it's another injection, if you will, of soccer into a country and culture that I think now is craving it.

"Don Garber. Just the other week he said the World Cup could be the rocket fuel that ignites soccer in this country.

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"While we focus so much on the summer of 2026, I think where the real excitement and energy is going to be is what happens the day after.

"The circus is going to leave town. But if you use it and you harness it correctly, you can leave a legacy. And we can kick on from there.

"And that's really, really important. And it's not just the team on the field. It's everybody."

Lalas, whose side lost to eventual champions Brazil in '94, finished by urging soccer chiefs not to miss out on the opportunity.

"You have to prepare, like in anything," he explained.

"This is an opportunity. So you have to prepare for 2026 to maximize it.

"And we need to do it as a country. We need to do it individually. We need to do it on the field. We need to do it off the field.

"Those that are prepared will reap the benefits come the day after the World Cup in 2026."