GOAL Convo: The former U.S. goalkeeper discussed MLS's beginnings, what the 2026 World Cup could mean for the league
The growth of soccer in America has surpassed anything Tony Meola could have imagined when he was playing in the 1994 World Cup.
"If I had a nickel for every time someone tells me '30 years [ago] I became a fan because of 1994,' I'd be on an island somewhere working on my golf game and fishing game," Meola jokingly reflected to GOAL.
The USMNT legend, who started four games as a fresh-faced, ponytailed goalkeeper in that tournament, noted that the expectations and roles for American players were vastly different compared to today.
"We always joke about the fact that we had two jobs, right? We had to play. You had to get ready for the game and get ready for trying to make a World Cup team," he said. "But then you had to promote the sport. Because the sport clearly wasn't at the level that it is now."
In 1994, American soccer fans had few ways to engage with the sport. There weren’t dozens of streaming packages to follow global leagues, and domestic players struggled to find professional opportunities. That began to change with the advent of Major League Soccer, which emerged as part of the U.S. hosting the world’s biggest sporting event.
"There was a rallying cry, or a belief that at least some of us had to stay in the U.S. to try and help promote the game, to try and help move it forward, you know?" he said. "And there were opportunities for players. It was a new league. No one knew about it. No one had ever seen it before, and the hope was that we would be in the forefront of having it grow."
Now in its 30th season, MLS has exceeded expections. Meola, now 56, helped launch the league as a member of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.
"If you'd have told me that it would look like this in 2025, I probably would have told you you were crazy," he said. "It's grown to a place that I don't think any of us could have ever imagined, at least not if you were part of 1996 and that group that came into the league."
With the 2026 World Cup now exactly a year away, Meola hopes MLS can take another major step forward.
The goalkeeper turned broadcaster discussed the league’s evolution and his hopes for what’s next in the latest GOAL Convo, a Q&A with central figures in the American soccer scene.
Getty Images SportON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 1994 AND 2026
GOAL: It is exactly one year out from the 2026 World Cup kicking off. What are your thoughts on how things are shaping up and how it all compares to what you experienced in 1994?
MEOLA: Well, it's obviously exciting, right? One year out begins the count down right to the World Cup. And I can remember one year out from '94, obviously, we were training in Mission Viejo, California. And the excitement started to build. There are some similarities, for sure, but I think we're in a completely different spot here in the US than we were back then. Back then, we always joked about the fact that we had two jobs, right? We had to, we had to play. You had to get ready for the game and get ready for trying to make a World Cup team. But then you had to promote the sport, right? Because the sport clearly wasn't at the level that it is now, where now we've got Major League Soccer is established in the U.S. We continue to grow every day. So there's an awareness about soccer. So the players are in different circumstances. Now we're going to see how countries fill cities up and find ways to gather… It's going to be incredible.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportON THE LAUNCH OF MLS
GOAL: When did you start hearing MLS would be a thing, and what was your immediate reaction to it as a player?
MEOLA: We knew about Major League Soccer starting before the World Cup started. That was the plan. We would use the '94 World Cup to sort of be the launching pad for Major League Soccer. And of course, it was supposed to start in 1995, but it didn't. It got pushed back a year, which was, in hindsight, the right decision. We knew about it, and we were all excited about it. And there was a rallying cry, or a belief that at least some of us had to stay in the U.S. to try and help promote the game, to try and help move it forward. And there were opportunities for players. We did a really good job of of positioning guys, Alexi Lalas in Boston, and myself and Tab [Ramos] in New York.
Go through the list of guys: Eric [Wynalda] went out West. Jeff Agoos in D.C.. where he had spent so much time at UVA. John Harkes, the same thing, and we were able to position guys in the right places, to spread the word, if you will, about the league. It was a new league. No one knew about it. No one had ever seen it before, and the hope was that we would be in the forefront of having it grow. I had a vision of where I thought it would grow, and I thought it would be great. We had just come off the World Cup. There's so much excitement about the game. If you had told me that it would look like this in 2025, I probably would have told you you were crazy. And it's grown to a place that I don't think any of us could have ever imagined, at least not if you were part of 1996 and that group that came into the league.
Getty Images SportON THE GROWTH OF SOCCER IN THE U.S.
GOAL: You mentioned you felt like you had two jobs, one was to promote soccer here. When did you realize the sport would have staying power here?
MEOLA: I thought that when the league started. And then there was a dark period a couple of years later, right, where we saw a contraction in the league. Looking back on it, it seems logical, right? You start in a bunch of places, and it doesn't necessarily work in some, and you have to add some other places. There were some scary moments… And I was sort of at the beginning of the growth of that. So to look at it, you know, we always knew in New York, in L.A., eventually down in Miami, one day in D.C., It would take a little while, but it would grow. But you know, you're talking about Kansas City and Columbus and Austin, Texas now. And just think of what those places look like on the weekend.
As much as we all dreamed about that stuff. I think we have over 20 new stadiums in the last 25 years. And like, it's incredible what we've done. I get people who look sometimes from the outside, can find fault in things that happen in the game, in our country. But if you do that, that's fine, because that's every business in the world, right? When you really sit back and think about it, there's no sport, there's no league in the world that has grown like this one has. It's incredible to think about it. And luckily, it's here. Like, I'm glad I get to see it, and glad my kids get to see it. And hopefully, we'll take the World Cup and use it again as another springboard to get to the next level.
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ImagnON THE IMPACT OF THE '26 WORLD CUP
GOAL: Where do you think the 2026 World Cup can take MLS?
MEOLA: One of the missions is always for Major League Soccer is to convert soccer fans into MLS fans, right? There's those grapple between where players play. Mauricio Pochettino has made it clear that he doesn't care [where guys play]. We're looking at the national team now, and guys in MLS are making a name for themselves, not only in the league on the weekends but also in camps with a national team. Look at a guy like Diego Luna… we're looking at a guy that could potentially be a World Cup player that comes out of the RSL system.
And it's stories like that that I think, really show the quality of the league and show where we're at as a league. You know Diego Luna plays for Real Salt Lake, or Patrick Agyemang plays in Charlotte.You know Brian White plays in Vancouver. And that's what the World Cup will do for those guys. It's life-changing, and it'll be changing for Major League Soccer because we will inherently just have more fans… There'll be enough opportunity to use the World Cup to help the league grow.