'Can U.S. win World Cup' now not such a crazy question as America starts to believe

SEATTLE -- Mauricio Pochettino walked toward the tunnel at Lumen Field several minutes after the final whistle sounded on the U.S. men's national team's 2-0 win over Australia, absorbing the party going on around him. There were fans dressed in red, white and blue overalls and in tricorner hats and Revolutionary garb, some in the red-and-white striped jerseys of this team and others in the denim blue of 1994, all roaring John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" to celebrate something no U.S. team had accomplished since 1930. Pochettino took a few more steps and then paused, waving his arms at the crowd. He pumped his fists in the air and then waved again. Then he started to chant at the crowd, "U-S-A!" and they yelled back with him. It was a reflection of a fanbase that is starting to believe -- and not just the ones in the stadium on Friday, but millions around the country. There are plenty of reasons for the positivity. For the first time in nearly a century, an American team has won two World Cup group games, back to back no less. A generation billed as "golden" is finally delivering performances that match that reputation. And a team that has always insisted it can do something special now has people dreaming that, too. "We need to keep believing and approach every single day like we did from day one: Believing we could win," Pochettino said after the game. "Knowing we need to work really hard but enjoying the time together, building our journey every day. "My dreams have not changed too much. It's much better when you show good performances and win the games, it makes everything easier, but at the same time, keep believing. Before we were talking, it was one game, three points. Now it is two games, six points. And we need to go for the next one." It is easy, of course, to get carried away by two results. Basic soccer common sense will tell you the tournament winner will likely come from a small party of elite teams that the U.S. isn't invited to. But try telling that to the masses in Seattle, or the millions of casual fans who are finding that a home World Cup is a whole lot of fun. "Yes," iconic former Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said after the game on Fox, when asked if the U.S. can win the World Cup. Think about that sentence for just a second. Then shake your head and think about it again. The U.S. feels on the verge of something special because they have taken care of two opponents that they were supposed to beat, first easily dispatching Paraguay and then controlling an Australian team that put up a physical fight, but not much of a soccer one. It's just two wins, sure. Yet it puts the U.S. is three points clear in the group, and that's nothing to scoff at. Winning it would mean staying on the West Coast and potentially returning to the seismic home field advantage in Seattle for a round-of-16 game. It's different. And it feels different -- and big -- because it's happening in front of home crowds that are urging the team on, willing their hopes about American soccer to manifest on the field. The players say they can feel it. It's not a one-way flow. The energy is being transferred back and forth. It's why after the game Tim Ream, usually so poised, broke down in tears as the team huddled together. The emotions caught him off guard. "I have no idea what that was, to be completely honest," Ream said. "Maybe it was just everything. We've obviously clinched a spot in the round of 32 and that kind of wave hits you. Maybe it's family being in the stands being able to watch; it's knowing how much all of us have put into this and getting the rewards for that ... you end up getting flooded with a million different thoughts. "I'm not an emotional person, but it definitely got the better of me." For Ream -- and for the team he captains, the fans in the stadium and those watching around the country, Friday felt like a release of sorts. A bad result against Australia would have handed back the momentum built up against Paraguay. Instead, this U.S. team reinforced their self-belief with another win. And they did it backed by that unforgettable crowd, one that gave them goosebumps when it sang the national anthem before kickoff and then again after the final whistle as it serenaded them with John Denver. "It gives you extreme national pride, and puts in your mind what you're playing for," center back Auston Trusty said. "You're playing for yourself, yes, and for your family and people around you, but also for the whole country and for soccer in America." The reaction to these first two World Cup games has been an overwhelming amount of support and positivity. Zlatan's one-word prognostication was just one more headline in that whirlwind of celebration and optimism. It's a welcome change. Positivity and celebration and optimism have been scarce commodities around this U.S. men's national team over the past four years. For that reason, the U.S. players smiled and accepted the World Cup talk, even as early as it's coming, and even with a gauntlet of contenders like Belgium, Spain and France potentially awaiting them in the knockout rounds. Winning a World Cup is an enormously difficult task, one accomplished by just eight countries ever. It took the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi, playing for one of the most storied footballing nations, five tries to lift his first trophy. The furthest the U.S. has ever gone in the modern era is a quarterfinal -- the only World Cup knockout game the U.S. has won since 1930 -- and this year's version will require one extra knockout victory just to equal that finish. But why not enjoy the moment? And why not believe that you can do something special? "America is built on belief," U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie said. "So I think we expect it of ourselves, it doesn't really matter what anyone on the outside says. We will always believe in ourselves and believe in each other." The task now, Pochettino said, is to "not relax." And not to allow all of the love to overwhelm the work. "We need to enjoy, we need to work hard, we need to have discipline, keep being tough with ourselves to push to be better," he said. Leaving a more lasting legacy has been the goal all along. Not just to have someone say you can win the trophy, but to actually give people a reason to really believe it. After another win on Friday in Seattle, that belief is building. But the players insist they know the job is far from done. They have galvanized the country behind them. They've inspired dreams of World Cup wins. But this U.S. team is aiming for history, not hot takes. And that doesn't come with group stage wins. It has to come later in this tournament. "For me, growing up, history was always -- the winners are remembered," forward Folarin Balogun said. "I'm aware the country's supporting us, and the country's proud of us in each game. We are doing things. But for me, I'm just focused on the prize."