The U.S. men’s soccer team has found a slogan that already feels familiar to NC State fans.
Mauricio Pochettino and his squad have made “Why not U.S.?” their rallying cry during this World Cup run, stamping it on meeting-room walls, T-shirts and, now, the national conversation.
That phrase may be new to the USMNT, but Wolfpack fans know it well. It was the same motto that went viral during NC State’s Final Four push in 2024.
The Americans have leaned into that underdog identity all tournament long. They finished top of their group after a strong opening stage, then kept the momentum rolling with a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32.
That victory sent them into the last 16 and ended a long winless stretch against European opposition. It also marked the team’s first knockout-stage win in 24 years.
Now comes Belgium on Monday at 8 p.m. EST in Seattle, with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. If the U.S. gets through, it would be its first trip to the quarterfinals since 2002.
For NC State fans, the connection is hard to miss. The Wolfpack’s 2024 run was built on the same kind of belief and momentum the Americans are riding now. State won five games in five days in Washington, D.C., including an overtime, last-second banked three by O’Connel vs UVA, then beat Duke and North Carolina to claim the ACC Tournament title and the automatic bid.
Seeded No. 11 in the NCAA Tournament, the Pack kept pushing. They beat No.
6 Texas Tech, survived No. 14 Oakland in a battle of underdogs, upset No.
2 Marquette and then knocked off rival No. 4 Duke in the Elite Eight behind DJ Burns Jr.’s 29-point performance.
That run carried NC State to its first Final Four since 1983, its first in 41 years, before a loss to Purdue in the national semifinal. It was a nine-game postseason winning streak, and every one of them came in an elimination setting.
The USMNT’s path has had its own punch. The Americans opened group play with a 4-1 win over Paraguay, followed that with a 2-0 victory over Australia, then dropped a 3-2 decision to Turkey before regrouping in the knockout round.
However this tournament ends, the U.S. has already turned its “Why not U.S.?” mantra into the kind of run that feels bigger than a slogan.