Bold USMNT predictions for 2020

Welcome to 2020, everyone! It’s a new year, a new decade, and a chance for new beginnings and new goals. For the United States Men’s National Team, it’s a chance to leave a crappy end to the 2010s behind them and start the 2020s off right.

So, what predictions do we have for the year for the USMNT? Let’s list them out and see at the end of the year if we were right.

The USMNT will win the Nations League.

The CONCACAF Nations League playoffs are in June, and the USMNT will face Honduras in the semifinals. When they defeat them, they will face the winner of Mexico-Costa Rica in the final, where a heroic performance will propel them to lift the trophy as the first-ever winners of the Nations League.

The USMNT will beat Costa Rica on the road during World Cup qualifying.

The USMNT have never beaten Costa Rica on the road. Dating back to 1992, every time they face the Ticos in Central America, they come back with empty pockets. World Cup qualifying begins in September, and it’s highly likely that the Americans will have to face someone in a tough road test. That test will be in San Jose, where finally the Yanks will break the losing streak and beat Costa Rica in their own backyard.

Christian Pulisic will score 10 goals in 2020.

Christian Pulisic is ready to make the next leap in his development from superstar to legend. He’s going to take major strides towards that goal in 2020, when he leads the team in goals. He’ll also become the first MNT player to score 10 goals in 1 year, taking his total to 24 goals in just 44 caps for country. He’ll end the year in a tie for 6th place on the all-time goalscoring list. Not bad for a 21-year-old.

The U-23s will not only qualify for the Olympics, they’ll finish with a bronze medal.

This is the year. The U-23s will see it through and get to the final of CONCACAF Olympic qualifying, securing their berth in the 2020 Summer Games. Once they get to Japan, they’re going to really shock the world, making a stunning run to win the bronze medal and show that the kids really are alright.

Jozy Altidore will score 5 goals during World Cup qualifying.

Jozy Altidore is going to be healthy all year long, but it won’t be more evident than during World Cup qualifying. There, the guy that many want to ride off into the sunset is going to instead come back and make a tear during the first 6 matches of qualifying, scoring 5 goals to help the USMNT into 2nd place in the standings at the end of the year.

Chris Gloster, Chris Richards, and Richie Ledezma will make their USMNT debuts.

We will see some young players make their USMNT debuts in 2020. Chris Gloster and Richie Ledezma from PSV Eindhoven and Chris Richards from Bayern Munich will all have 2020 be the year that they make their national team debuts. They’ll eventually break through into the first team at their clubs after having success at the Olympics, and that will be what gets them onto the field in red, white, and blue.

The USMNT will only lose once in 2020.

The USMNT will have a busy 2nd half of the year with the Nations League playoffs and World Cup qualifying. However, 2020 will only have a max of 12 matches for the USMNT (if they do 2 January Camp matches). There will only be one defeat for the USMNT this year. There will also be a ton of draws and not as many wins as fans would like, but there will be only one time that the national team ends up on the wrong side of a result.

There it is, the bold predictions for 2020. Hit the comments and let us know what predictions you have for the next year. It’s a new decade, y’all. Let’s start it off right!