Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna & Weston McKennie told how to justify USMNT ‘Golden Generation’ tag amid Copa America questions

The United States now have key men plying their club trade across the world, with few members of Gregg Berhalter’s plans based in domestic MLS. Star turns have been catching the eye at AC Milan, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco, PSV and Fulham.

Dominance has been secured in North America, across three CONCACAF Nations League triumphs, but the U.S. are yet to deliver at a World Cup finals and face plenty of questions regarding what constitutes success at a home Copa America in 2024.

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The class of 2024 are already being billed as a “Golden Generation”, but former international DaMarcus Beasley has told ESPN of that moniker: “They still have to win something of importance, and I think that as of today, they have not done that yet. Do I think they have the capability? One-hundred percent. I'm a big fan this group, a big fan of how much talent they have. But they have yet to put it together when it comes to a big game, whether that's a friendly or whether that's a tournament. So it just remains to be seen if this is truly our Golden Generation.”

Tyler Adams, who filled the captain’s armband for the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup and is a Premier League performer at Bournemouth, has said of the “golden” tag: “I think that when you look at our team and the group of players that we have, we are a talented group of players for sure. But I would say that the biggest thing when I think about this team is: That individual success doesn't correlate directly to team success, and that's what we're working towards right now. So, it's great to have everyone playing at a top club around the world. It's probably the first time in a long time in U.S. soccer that we can be recognized at such a high level. That doesn't mean that we're going to have direct success. We're working towards that success right now.”

The USMNT are preparing to get their Copa America campaign underway, following mixed results against Colombia and Brazil in warm-up games, with Berhalter’s side set to kick things off against Bolivia at AT&T Stadium in Texas on Sunday.