Beckham says USA will win the World Cup because of Messi
What do David Beckham, the USA, the World Cup, and Lionel Messi have in common? If you’re Beckham, it’s the formula to winning a World Cup.
On this week’s Hot Ones Wings Challenge broadcast, David Beckham has shared his stunning prediction of USMNT winning the World Cup at some point. The global superstar has been a giant figure in US soccer since his mega transfer to LA Galaxy in 2007.
But, according to Becks, it was rather the influence of Lionel Messi that will be the driving force to inspire young American kids. “I want to inspire the next generation of young kids that are playing in this country because, at some point, the US will win the World Cup,” he remarked.
While he didn’t specify a time range, his statement seems far-fetched for multiple reasons.
Tough spell for the 2026 co-hosts
To begin with, recent performances and results by the US national teams haven’t been promising. On the home stage, USMNT failed to progress from the Copa America’s group stage.
Marko Mitrovic’s side managed to do that at the Olympics, but the quarter-final defeat to Morocco was embarrassing.
Meanwhile, the heartbreaking defeat to Mexico in the CONCACAF U20 final for US youngsters coached by Michael Nsien was disappointing.
USMNT’s World Cup history also speaks for itself. The last time they won a knockout stage game was in 2002. That’s also the only time the US has won multiple matches on the global stage apart from the first edition in 1930.
More recently, the USA failed to qualify for World Cup 2018, and only narrowly qualified for World Cup 2022 on goal difference.
Besides, staging the tournament hasn’t worked out well in terms of performance for three of the last four hosts. South Africa and Qatar were eliminated from the group stage, while record winners Brazil suffered their worst defeat to eventual champions Germany in 2014.
Pay-to-play is the biggest hindrance
But there is a bigger elephant in the room that would make it difficult to realize Beckham’s prediction in the long term. The pay-to-play system has been an obstacle for the majority of children at the youth level of soccer. For most parents, the current system in the US will cost families a fortune to pay to play on a competitive team. From coaching costs to administration fees and travel expenses, youth teams require an annual investment of thousands of dollars per child.
There have been calls for improvements, including from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but the situation remains the same for those dreaming of a future soccer career.
For some, the American soccer pyramid also takes away the much-needed competitiveness spirit from the players. Sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), there is currently no link between the series of professional and amateur soccer leagues. Promotion and relegation exists everywhere in the world except for the United States and Mexico, and the results are telling.
Beckham, World Cup and Messi: Formula to USA becoming world champions?
Beckham nearly made a century of MLS appearances for LA Galaxy. He played in three World Cups for the Three Lions. The iconic winger scored and assisted in all of them, but England’s best record with him in the side was reaching the quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006. With his Inter Miami project, Beckham helped to breathe life into MLS.
Under the Englishman’s ownership, the Herons brought players like Messi and Luis Suarez to the closed league model. That would certainly help the growth of professional footballers, but there is a long way to go for grassroots development.
Lifting the glorious World Cup will remain unthinkable under the current environment.
Photo: Hot Ones.