DaMarcus Beasley hopes the attention his U.S. World Cup team generated for soccer in this country will carry over to the current Major League Soccer season and beyond.
“We opened some eyes a little bit,” Beasley, a third-year forward for the Fire, said of the U.S. Cup campaign that ended against Germany in the quarterfinals. “I’m just afraid two weeks from now, that support will fade away. It will be all about our World Cup team having that one moment in time.
“MLS has already grown in the seven years it has existed,” he said. “Eventually, [MLS] can reach the same level in this country as basketball or American football.”
Beasley, 20, was the youngest member of the U.S. team and didn’t figure to play much in the Cup. But he started against Portugal and South Korea and subbed in against Poland before a bruised knee sidelined him against Mexico and Germany.
That injury will keep Beasley out of the Fire’s Champions Cup quarterfinal against Monarcas on Sunday in Mexico. He plans to play at home on July 7 against Colorado.
