Hard to say. We came back nicely in 2002 after the 1998 debacle. You take steps forward, and you take steps back. That's true for pretty much every national side.
As long as the US is a shoo-in to qualify for the WC, and there is no reason to think that will not be the case (I mean come on, all we have to do is be better than Canada).
What the US needs is a bona-fide superstar, with a solid supporting cast. There were a lot of hopes for Freddie Adu, the best thing that can be said about that is that the jury is still out on the 17 year-old.
Adu is a great talent but no one man should be placed with the burden to carry a team.
The US needs to make a good showing to aid stability for MLS. ESPN2 had record ratings for the first game, beating the previous record in the Argentina - Ivory Coast match.
There's plenty of love for the game. It needs to be coaxed along. And we need to develop some better technical players.
The handful we have now have carried US soccer a LONG WAY.