As always, a knockout round win for the USMNT would be a successful tournament:

In all of those games, the team thrived in high pressure situations where the players fought for each other. Where they played their club ball didn’t matter as these teams were made up of players representing semi-pro teams, graduates of the NCAA, the fledgling MLS, second divisions in Europe and leagues outside of the top 5 abroad. These were teams that didn’t have the most gifted soccer players technically, rather they relied on their strengths - athleticism, being tall on set pieces, and a chip on their shoulders to get surprise results.