The monumental win against Portugal was a huge boost. The draw against energized South Korea, the World Cup co-host with its overwhelming red-clad following, was another step forward.
But, Desmond Armstrong is quick to state, everyone still has to wait, maybe only a bit longer, to see just how far the Americans have come in international play on soccer's biggest stage.
"We really can't tell the progression of the U.S. game until this team potentially gets past the first round, and then we play against some quality teams with the stakes higher.
"It's then that we're going to see where our progress really is," said Armstrong, 37, a starting defender on the 1990 U.S. World Cup team from Columbia, Howard High and Maryland. He is now coaching men's soccer at Montreat College in Asheville, N.C.
A win or draw against Poland this morning (7:25 a.m.) would assure the Americans (1-0-1) a spot in the second round, a feat accomplished only twice before - in 1930 and 1994. The U.S. team and South Korea have identical marks (1-0-1) atop Group D, with the host country ahead on goal difference, one of the tie-breakers if standings are knotted. Portugal (1-1-0) and South Korea also play today, vying for one of the two invitations to the next round.
The underachieving Poles are 0-2-0, haven't scored and can't advance, but Armstrong doesn't believe the match will necessarily be easy for the United States.
"Can we beat them? Yes, we definitely can beat them. But I don't think Poland is going to roll over. I think they're going to come out with fight just for pride's sake," he said.
"The U.S. needs to come out of the gates like they did in the first game against Portugal. That would put Poland back on their heels," said Armstrong.
It was 12 years ago when a naive group of Americans, Armstrong included, ended a 40-year drought in World Cup appearances for the United States by qualifying for the next round in Italy, only to return with three straight losses.
But those players ultimately began a new era in U.S. soccer.
Armstrong, now 37, spent eight years with the U.S. team starting in 1987 and worked with ABC Sports and ESPN as a studio analyst during the 1994 World Cup. He closed out his professional career in 1996 with the Charlotte Eagles of the U.S. Interregional Soccer League and, along with a number of business ventures, went into coaching youth soccer and working in Christian ministries.
He said he will always feel a strong connection to the U.S. men's team, fondly recollecting the first time he stepped on the World Cup stage "a daunting experience" with the 100 or so American fans sitting in a corner of a stadium in Italy chanting, "U-S-A! U-S-A!"
"I had a great opportunity and cherished it," he said. "I think I'm now understanding even more so the magnitude of it all, because we've gone consecutively four World Cups in a row.
"I think we had some quality players when I played, guys that had some talent, but we didn't have any experience. So I think we're now light years ahead of our team in terms of experience, knowing what to expect and thus utilizing what gifts we have in a cohesive manner to really have some sustained success."
But Armstrong said there's still plenty more to cover before the Americans can regularly compete with the world's elite teams.