USMNT must thrive in Copa America before thinking about 2026 World Cup

It is about 2026 — it is always about 2026 for the U.S. Men’s National Team that is two years from hosting the World Cup on home soil — but it is also about right now.

It must be about right now for a team that has been awaiting the future for seven long years.

It must be about right now for a team that is getting a rare chance to host South American opposition and play for a meaningful trophy this summer.

There is no more waiting and hoping and getting excited about incremental advancement for our golden generation.

It is about trophies.

It is about the trophy for which they will play this summer.

There is no next year for the USMNT.

Only the quadrennial World Cup, the odd chance at a Copa America, and biannual chances for the Gold Cup and Nations League against North American opposition it has become used to beating.

The golden generation’s two best shots at a trophy are now and two summers from now — after which the squad that was statistically the youngest in the tournament in the 2022 Qatar World Cup will see its prime in the rearview mirror.

Belgium’s golden generation, the young guns of the 2014 World Cup who knocked out the U.S. in the round of 16, got as far as third place four years later, and that is likely the best it will ever do.

Croatia’s, which burst onto the scene with a final appearance in Russia 2018, got to the semifinals in Qatar, but is unlikely to ever top that initial achievement.

There are not many good chances to win a trophy in international soccer.

Take advantage of the ones you get, or it might be a while before another comes along.

So, yes, the expectation for this U.S. squad at this Copa on home soil is higher than we are all used to, and the feeling entering Sunday’s group stage opener against Bolivia in Arlington, Texas, is more than a little bit nervous after a pre-tournament set of friendlies produced an embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Colombia and a burgeoning 1-1 draw against Brazil.

This team, which fields a breadth of players from Europe’s Big Five leagues, accounts for the most talent the United States has ever brought to an international tournament.

That won’t mean anything if it is not followed by results.

“The reality is, in terms of performance and result, they have yet to do anything that hasn’t been done in the past,” Alexi Lalas, the lead analyst for Fox Sports and former member of the national team, told The Post. “And, as a matter of fact, they have yet to surpass what’s been done in the past. And yet we are looking at them to do things that we have not seen before. Now, to be fair, it is the most difficult part of progress and evolution, is that last little step to become elite. And we are very good.

“[But] when the expectation is that you are consistently beating what traditionally have been better teams, that’s a different type of mentality, and I think that’s a different type of culture. And so the players on the field aren’t the only ones that are going through this. I think we all are going through this.”

We all went through it two years ago watching the USMNT in Qatar.

It played up to its best competition and drew England.

It played down to its worst and needed a late winner against Iran to advance out of a winnable group.

It fell short against the Netherlands in the round of 16, and everyone agreed that was about the median outcome — one that left you wanting more.

Then in the following months, there was dramatic fallout surrounding Gio Reyna, his parents and coach Gregg Berhalter.

Berhalter, controversially, was brought back to lead a squad that is in essence the same — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Reyna playing starring roles — though fullback Sergino Dest is out of this tournament with injury.

It’s hard to believe that Berhalter will still be here in two years without the U.S. showing its best self against the Brazils, Argentinas and Uruguays of the world — the latter of whom shares a group with the United States, with the game between the two as the finale.

What does success look like in this Copa America, the first with North American participation since 2016, in which the U.S. lost to Argentina in the semifinal?

“I’d love to say winning it,” Maurice Edu of Fox, another former national team member, told The Post. “I think we have to start getting into the mindset from a player standpoint — from us as pundits, us as fans — where we set the bar higher for ourselves.”

It is about meeting that bar. It is about meeting it now, and not spending the next two years wondering if this group ever will.