- The FIFA World Cup Trophy visited Utah, highlighting the state's role in soccer.
- Real Salt Lake players see the 2026 World Cup as a tangible opportunity.
- Young players like Zavier Gozo feel the World Cup's proximity, boosting their aspirations.
SANDY — The most recognizable trophy in world sport made its way through Utah Wednesday morning.
For a few hours, the FIFA World Cup Trophy sat beneath the rotunda of the Utah State Capitol, polished, guarded, and surrounded by cameras, dignitaries, and carefully constructed messaging about what is coming next.
Utah's stop on the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour, backed by longtime partner Coca-Cola, brought out the full cast of dignitaries, from Governor Spencer Cox to corporate and FIFA representatives, all eager to frame the moment as a signal of the state's growing place in the global game.
But a few hours later in Sandy, the scene told a different story: The game still belongs to the people.
The trophy moved from marble floors and speeches to the plaza at America First Field, where thousands of fans lined up for a closer look. Jerseys from across the globe filled the space: Colombia. Mexico. Brazil. USA. Club shirts, national teams, old and new.
For many, it was their first time seeing the trophy in person. Phones came out. Photos were taken. Children were lifted up for a better view.
For a moment, the 2026 World Cup felt less like something coming next summer and more like something already here. From there, the focus turned to Real Salt Lake.
Jason Kreis, Pablo Mastroeni and Zavier Gozo gathered at America First Field to reflect on what the moment means for the club, the players, and the next generation coming through.
The timeline is no longer abstract: The 2026 World Cup will open June 11 at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, currently undergoing a facelift ahead of hosting the first match of a tournament that will stretch across North America.
And it is not just Mexico preparing.
Stadiums across the United States are being upgraded, as well, including Lumen Field, where new grass installation has postponed Real Salt Lake's planned trip to Seattle next weekend, a small but real disruption for a team building early-season momentum.
The World Cup is already here, shaping schedules, surfaces, and stakes.
For RSL, with Juan "JuanMa" Sanabria returning from international duty with Uruguay, Diego Luna in the U.S. national team conversation, and Zavier Gozo rising behind him, the distance to that stage keeps shrinking.
And that may be the real significance of days like when the trophy was in the state. Not the photo opportunities or the speeches, but the reminder that the global game is no longer happening somewhere else. It is arriving, reshaping the landscape, and pulling clubs like Real Salt Lake directly into its orbit.
The last time it changed everything
In 1994, the World Cup came to the United States and changed the trajectory of soccer in the country, with Major League Soccer launching less than two years later.
A 17-year-old Mastroeni watched as the game suddenly felt bigger, closer, possible.
"That moment was real to me," Mastroeni said. "When you see it on TV, it's one thing, but going to a match, USA vs Romania, it changed my life. It made it real to me. It made it palpable, it made it achievable."
The shift was immediate. What had once been distant became tangible. Before that, the World Cup had lived in living rooms and basements.
"It was pandemonium in the house every game day," Mastroeni said. "Barbecues, tons of people over, noise. Just living the game in a different way."
Years later, he stood on that stage himself. And when he did, the moment came full circle.
"I saw my dad and my brother holding up a banner that said, 'Dare to dream Pablo,'" he said. "It brought me back to the couch with my dad."
As a 21-year-old college student, Jason Kreis stood on the edge of that same shift. Within two years, Major League Soccer launched, and careers that once required going abroad could now be built at home.
A new generation, closer than ever
Now, three decades later, another generation stands in that same space. Players like Aiden Hezarkhani, Luca Moisa, Griffin Dillon, and Gozo are coming of age as professionals, but also as participants in a moment that could again reshape what is possible.
This time, the pathway is clearer, the timeline is shorter, and the dream is closer.
"I think it's really surreal because how these guys have come up in the last couple years is a lot faster than my trajectory," Mastroeni said.
For players inside the building, that proximity is not theoretical, it is something they can feel.
"It feels more real every day," Gozo said. "Seeing the real trophy makes it feel so much cooler."
That feeling matters, because once the dream becomes real, it becomes actionable.
"When you train with those guys and see them, it becomes, 'I am this close,'" Mastroeni said. "It becomes about belief."
And belief, more than anything, is what turns moments like this into turning points.
The pathway is no longer abstract
At Real Salt Lake, that belief is reinforced daily. Young players are not waiting for opportunities, they are creating them in training, demanding that the coaching staff find minutes for them, then repaying that trust in matches.
"The opportunities I'm getting at RSL help me dream bigger and dream for the things I want to achieve," Gozo said. "It helps my dreams, for sure."
For Mastroeni, that is where the real impact lies.
"The closer you can get to where you want to go, the clearer the dream becomes," he said. "The pathway becomes clearer."
It is no longer about imagining what it takes. It is about seeing it up close, in teammates, in training, and in the environment around them. And when that happens, the jump from possibility to belief becomes much smaller.
An inflection point, again
Mastroeni sees the bigger picture, as well.
"I do think it's an inflection point," he said. "The amount of football being played in this country is probably the most ever. You're going to see this sport turn second division players into first division players, and casual fans into passionate soccer fans."
The growth is already underway, the World Cup will only accelerate it. And for clubs like Real Salt Lake, that matters, because development is no longer just a philosophy it is a pathway that now connects directly to the biggest stage in the sport.
The trophy will move on, as it always does, but for a few hours in Utah, it offered a reminder: The World Cup is coming.
And for players with Real Salt Lake, the path to it no longer feels quite so distant.
