World Cup pressure is always there. It was there for the U.S. men’s national team in 1994, the first time America served as the host country. And it is there for the 2026 team as the U.S. serves as one of the host nations for the 23rd World Cup that begins this week. But the pressure was distinctly different for that 1994 team — for a lot of reasons. Those players were fighting for their soccer lives and bent on building a foundation for a sport that was niche in this country. The ’94 players