Clint Dempsey says success on the field will help build pro-American crowds at World Cup

Clint Dempsey says success on the field during friendlies over the next year would help the U.S. fill seats with pro-American fans at the World Cup next year, a turnaround from pro-opponent crowds at this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino and current players took note that spectators were overwhelmingly rooting for Guatemala in St. Louis and Mexico in Houston.

''We were outnumbered in the games that mattered in terms of the semifinal and then final. There were more fans for the opposing team. So it's up to the national team players to put a product on the field that makes people want to go spend their hard-earned money,'' Dempsey said Thursday during an interview with The Associated Press. ''I think with everybody being back and having that fight and kind of mixing that together with the quality, I think that will give people motivation to go out there and support this team.''

The Americans have 10 friendlies on FIFA international fixture dates, two each in September, October, November, March and June, before opening the World Cup at Inglewood, California, on June 12. They play at Seattle seven days later then close the group stage at Inglewood on June 25.

''I want to see a team that is playing in an exciting style, whether it's defending well, building out of the back, getting forward, creating chances, getting goals,'' Dempsey said. ''I just want to see the fight and the grit that we saw in the Gold Cup, just with more quality. That's what I'm looking forward to, that team that gets you believing again that they can go and win games against top competition.''

Dempsey, tied with Landon Donovan for the American record of 57 international goals, is an analyst for CBS soccer coverage and the Men In Blazers Media Network, and he worked for Fox at the 2022 World Cup. He currently is involved in a promotion for the health care company Abbott in which 11 players will be selected to train at Real Madrid with club coaches and with input from Abbott scientists and the club's medical staff.

Now 42, Dempsey played for U.S. teams that were eliminated in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup, reached the round of 16 in 2010 and '14, and failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament. He says the rebuild for 2022, when the Americans again reached the round of 16, was positive with the new energy but came at the cost of veteran expertise. Defender DeAndre Yedlin was the only holdover from 2014.

After winning the CONCACAF Nations League in 2021, 2023 and 2024, the Americans were eliminated in the group stage of the 2024 Copa America, causing the U.S. Soccer Federation to replace Gregg Berhalter with Pochettino, and lost in the semifinals of this year's Nations League and the final of this year's Gold Cup.

''There wasn't that big mix of a lot of older players kind of passing down lessons that they learned over the years,'' Dempsey said. "And sometimes it's one of those situations where you need someone to shake things up, right? You don't know if it's egos. You don't know what is the reason for why things don't work out. So I think after Copa America after Nations League, there definitely needed to be some things shook up.

''And I think the more that people kind of look over their shoulder a little bit, their spots are not guaranteed, you have a culture that through training you can fight your way into getting into that starting lineup, I think people can get behind that and believe in that.''

Dempsey and wife Bethany have six children that keep them busy, daughters Elyse (16), Fifi (12) and Maevy (2), and sons Jackson (14) and Clay (10) and Linc (4).

Jackson plays for Charlotte's academy. Dempsey doesn't coach, and while he never expected to remain in soccer as a broadcaster, he's pleased with his new roles.

At the World Cup, the U.S. will be seeded as one of the three co-hosts. That means the Americans won't have a top 10 opponent in their group and if they finish first could avoid a strong nation in the new round of 32.

''If you are looking on numbers and looking on paper,'' Dempsey said, ''you have a chance to do something special and hopefully they take advantage of it. I think we need all the best players fit, playing week in, week out. I'm excited to see what they do with mixing a little bit more quality into this fighting and gritty kind of culture that you've seen throughout the Gold Cup.''

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer