I Believe That We Will Win: The Path to a US Men's World Cup Victory

by Phil West

Americans love to win. But when it comes to soccer, the world’s most popular sport, the U.S. men’s national team has historically come up short. While the women’s team has delivered three Women’s World Cup victories in as many decades, the men have not advanced past the quarter-finals in nearly ninety years. As America’s comparatively new national soccer league continues to grow its notoriously fervent fan base, and as the U.S. continues to dominate the lion’s share of world sporting events, the question must be asked: What will it take for the men to bring home the FIFA World Cup Trophy?


In I Believe That We Will Win, veteran soccer journalist Phil West delivers a compelling assessment of the history and future potential of American soccer on the international playing field. With insightful commentary and unbridled enthusiasm, West examines every aspect of the U.S. Men’s National Team and their competition, exploring how the U.S. returned to the World Cup after forty years away, the growing symbiotic relationship between the USMNT and Major League Soccer, and the cultivation of young talent through MLS academies and the US Development Academy. Along the way, West touches on the controversial tenure of former coach Jürgen Klinsmann, the role of dual-national players, Christian Pulisic and the new wave of American players playing abroad, and other issues that have engaged American soccer fans in spirited debate.


Punctuated with dozens of revealing interviews from past and current players, coaches, and journalists, I Believe That We Will Win is both the definitive history of American World Cup play and a wholehearted analysis of America’s potential to win big in the near future.

Genres: Sports

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 8, 2018

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this was a commissioned book paid for by the U$$F.

Not qualifying for the Russia 2018 World Cup was and still is unacceptable and this book essentially glosses over all of that to say it was not good what happened but "no big deal" and the goes on to discuss all the "good" things taking place with soccer in the US.

Yes, the growth and improvement of MLS led academies is going to pay dividends but to have not truly acknowledged the disaster of the 2018 qualification cycle and wax poetically about Christian Pulisic and all the other young players making an attempt at Europe is something any number of articles are doing now.

Ugh. Nothing in this book was a brutally honest and frank discussion of the disaster.
If I wanted feel good stories about US Soccer, I'd go to the federation's website where there is plenty of that.

This misses the mark and plays to the "sky is not falling" crowd using the poached I Believe chant as the title.

[Tyler Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Provides meaningful information on the many facets of the soccer development cycle that sends players to the USMNT. However, even within a year of being published, it already feels outdated, and the author simply says “Let’s see what the future holds” in regards to a potential USMNT victory at the World Cup. It felt like something that was written to capitalize on the emotion of USMNT and US soccer supporters.

[Caleb Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Any USA sports fan should read this whether they’re a casual viewer or follow the USMNT seriously. It covers the entire history of the USMNT, the role that the MLS plays, the growing soccer academy programs in the country, and the current state of the USMNT going forward into the “golden era”. Really got me excited about the growth of the sport in the US and the chance that the USMNT has to grow into a World Cup contender in the next few years.

[Larkin Tackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to this great Father’s Day gift, I learned a ton about the MLS, the league and our national team’s development academies, Latino players, playing club football in Europe, and other reasons I also (sort of) believe that we will eventually win a World Cup.

[Emanuel Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for American soccer fans.