USA national team boss Juergen Klinsmann is supremely confident that soccer in the United States will keep growing as it has done over the past decade or so.
The German tactician has been at the helm of the US side since 2011 so has seen first-hand the rapid development of the sport in his adopted country.
In a recent interview with Deutsche Welle - Germany's international news broadcaster - Klinsmann spoke of just how well he believes the code is performing in a market saturated with a plethora of seemingly more popular professional sports.
"Sure, the US is a soccer country. Millions of people here play the game," said Klinsmann.
"It's not yet as big as it is in Germany, Spain or Brazil - but it has to share that interest with the big sports here, like baseball (MLB), American football (NFL), basketball (NBA) and ice hockey (NHL).
"It's going to keep on catching up, and I think it already has a solid base. So now it's all about going those next few steps up and winning increasing international respect."
Klinsmann also touched on the amazing support the US side received during the 2014 World Cup with a phenomenal number of fans getting behind the team both Stateside and in Brazil.
"The crucial thing was Americans understanding how emotional soccer can be," he added.
"Seeing all those people partying together at fan zones or at a sports bar, or in the stadium itself, including the ups and downs, helps to connect people. And 2014 saw that emotional breakthrough among the American people.
"We had the most fans in Brazil, except the hosts. We had a fan presence everywhere, it was almost like having home games.
"There had never been that level of identification before."
