For the USA to seize a seat at the big boy table of the World Cup, it’s going to take more than a John Denver song and home-of-the-brave vibes.

With a mix of made-in-America swagger and impressive footy skills, there’s no doubt that the USMNT has grabbed the world’s attention during the biggest sporting event on the planet.

How can we tell? All that griping by cranky fuddy-duddies from old futbol countries hating on how we keep calling it soccer.

But now it’s time to shut ’em up and win their respect.

The World Cup has been a helluva red, white and blue party.

This tournament, however, will have done nothing to shake the game’s world order unless American voices belting out “Take Me Home, Country Roads” rattle the sky in Seattle on Monday night, after the home team beats Belgium.

It’s the biggest match in USMNT history.

And to win it, we’re going to need a Yankee Doodle Dandy hero.

Here’s looking at you Christian Pulisic.

Are you ready to be legendary?

It’s about damn time.

“Everything is possible, guys,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino exhorted his players after their 2-0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32. “Touch the moon.”

If the upstart USMNT wants to advance to the Elite Eight, where true soccer blue-bloods will surely await, it will require more than grit, heart and determination to avenge the red-card injustice done to teammate Folarin Balogun.

As tactically strong and psychologically savvy as Pochettino has been through four matches at the World Cup, we’ve arrived at the point in the tournament where it takes the greatness of players to win.

And that brings us to Pulisic.

On a soccer stage dominated by Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane, Pulisic has yet to step out of the shadows.

For a full decade, ever since Pulisic began making waves on both sides of the Atlantic as a goal-scoring teenage phenom, he has been dubbed America’s latest, greatest soccer messiah.

Here’s his chance to deliver in full on the hype.

Pulisic has undoubtedly raised the bar for the technical prowess of American soccer, which for far too long was built on the mistaken belief we could impress the world with athleticism on the pitch that has paled in comparison to our NBA and NFL stars.

It’s also true, however, that Pulisic has yet to have a legacy-defining game for the USMNT.

At age 27, there will never be a sweeter prime-time moment than now for this dude from Hershey, Pa., to deliver a chef’s kiss.

No player wearing red, white and blue has ever danced fancier with the ball at his feet than Pulisic.

But it would be flat-out wrong to suggest Pulisic has matched, much less surpassed, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey or Tim Howard as the greatest USMNT player of all time.

If we’re talking just the facts, ma’am, then I would have to rate Balogun, Malik Tillman and Tyler Adams as more valuable to the USMNT’s audacious run through this tournament than Pulisic. 

At this stage in the World Cup, where every score is precious, it often takes a golazo as bright and brassy as Tillman’s direct kick that clinched Team USA’s victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The hardest thing to do in soccer is to finish with a shot on frame that the keeper can’t stop. The one, big thing that had truly separated this version of the USMNT from the wannabes that took the World Cup stage in the past was Balogun.

Looking like a serious threat to score every time he touched the ball in the box was the intimidation factor the Americans brought to the pitch. And now the attack won’t have the same Flo, while Balo serves his red-card suspension.

While Belgium is far from as hellish to play as the Red Devils who forced Howard to make a bazillion saves at the World Cup back in 2014, they are the first thing resembling a dynamic offense that a suspect U.S. back line has faced in this competition.

Should it require three goals for the USMNT to beat Belgium, it’s hard to see how the Americans survive and advance if Pulisic doesn’t get his first one at this World Cup.

The don’t-ask, don’t-tell, dirty little secret of this American team?

Pulisic is in a chronic scoring slump. In 27 appearances for club (AC Milan) and country during 2026, he has put the ball in the back of the net only once.

A little more than two weeks before this tournament began, Pochettino pooh-poohed the goal drought afflicting Pulisic, and boldly predicted: “He’s going to score during the World Cup.”

Now would be an ideal time to start, don’t you think?