With less than a fortnight to go before David Beckham is due in the United States there is naturally a great deal of anticipation as to whether he will be able to help transform the game and push it closer to the mainstream of American sport.

Beckham’s face is popping up all the time advertising on the sports channels, particularly those that run soccer programming, and it will be fascinating to see whether the England international’s arrival in Major League Soccer in the colours of LA Galaxy succeeds in boosting the profile of the game.

At the website Soccer America Jeff L’Hote worries that Beckham is being seen as a ’savior’. That is both dangerous and unnecessary, he argues, because the league is already moving in the right direction.

“By objective standards…MLS is clearly a success,” he writes. ”It has survived 11-plus years in a difficult market; already ranks 12th in attendance among worldwide professional soccer leagues; continues to build necessary infrastructure through facility development; employs dozens of international players; and has the backing of such partners as adidas, AEG, Anheuser Busch, ESPN, etc.”

L’Hote goes on to mention the growing numbers of people watching international soccer in the U.S whether it be the recent Gold Cup or when teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid come out to tour (Chelsea are over here later this month and take on the Galaxy possibly Beckham’s first outing).

Beckham’s new boss, Galaxy president Alexi Lalas, caused a stir with his recent comments taking on British critics of the MLS, and former music journalist Steven Wells has argued that there is fear and ignorance of the US game. Whatever happens with Beckham in the MLS it is certainly going to keep that discussion bubbling on both sides of the Atlantic.

I’ll just inject one sentence into this debate about whether American soccer should be taken seriously: United States 6 Poland 1. That was the score in Tuesday’s game at the Under-20 World Cup in Canada.

Freddy Adu, the 18-year-old who was over-hyped four years ago but who is without doubt a major talent, scored a brilliant hat-trick for an impressive U.S team which utterly outclassed their European opponents. You can watch the goals (and the rest of the goals from the tournament) for free at fifa.com.

The U.S take on a typically exciting Brazilian side on Friday and while the South Americans start as favourites the result is by no means a foregone conclusion. Does that perhaps tell us something?

Simon Evans, Miami

The United States v Canada doesn’t sound like a fixture to excite too many international fans but Thursday’s Gold Cup semi-final between the two nations, in Chicago, promises to be a fascinating encounter.

There are still some in Europe and South America who look down their noses at soccer in North America but they should start to get used to the fact that the U.S. in particular are now well established in the elite of the world game. With Canada doing a pretty good job at playing catch-up, there is plenty to look forward to on Thursday.

After reaching the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002, the U.S. went out in the group stage in Germany last year which hid the progress that Bruce Arena’s side had made in the previous four years. The improvement has continued – and possibly accelerated – under Bob Bradley’s guidance.

At the Gold Cup, the hosts have won every game and conceded just one goal, and that came in the final minutes of a comfortable 2-1 win over Panama in Saturday’s quarter-final. Not everyone is convinced — The Other Football says this team is not yet ready for prime time and My Soccer Blog finds a lot to criticise — but under Bradley they seem to have found the sparkle in midfield and sharpness in attack lacking in the Arena era.

Striker Landon Donovan, who will be a team-mate of David Beckham’s at LA Galaxy, is enjoying greater freedom to roam the frontline and is benefiting from the creativity from PSV Eindhoven’s DaMarcus Beasley and Fulham’s Clint Dempsey.

Canada have long been overshadowed by their neighbours but look to be finally delivering on their potential. Striker Ali Gerba and attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario should pose some questions of a U.S. defence that has looked very solid so far.

It’s hardly England v Germany or Argentina v Brazil but if you get a chance to view this week’s ‘North American derby’ you might be pleasantly surprised.

Simon Evans is a Reuters sports correspondent based in Miami