Auston Trusty has posted a heartwarming message, following the USA's World Cup exit at the hands of Belgium.
The Celtic centre-back made two appearances for Mauricio Pochettino's side, against Australia and Turkey, with the defender scoring the opener in the latter match.
After making it through the group stage, they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0, before being knocked out in the following round.
Now, ahead of his break before returning to Celtic for pre-season, the 27-year-old has taken to Instagram to reflect on his experience at the tournament. In full, his message read."A dream I’ll carry with me forever.
"Not the ending we hoped for, but wearing this badge, representing my country, making my World Cup debut, and scoring on the biggest stage in football are moments I’ll never take for granted.
"One of our biggest goals was bigger than winning matches. It was to inspire the next generation.
"More than anything, I hope this summer inspired people. I hope kids all across the country are asking their parents for a football, spending hours in the backyard, at the park, or in the street imagining they’re playing in a World Cup. I hope more families are watching football together, more communities are embracing the sport, and more people discovered just how beautiful this game really is.
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"Most of all, I hope young players saw that there’s a pathway to this stage and believed, maybe for the first time, that one day it could be them. Because every player who steps onto the world’s biggest stage was once just a kid with a ball and a dream.
"If this World Cup inspired a new generation to dream bigger, then we’ve helped build something that will last far beyond this tournament.
"Thank you to every fan who stood behind us throughout this journey. We felt your support every step of the way.
"This isn’t the end of the story. It’s the beginning of the next chapter.
"The best is still ahead of 🇺🇸."
