STUART Findlay believes football can become as big a sport as the more established ones in the United States.

The 27-year-old joined Oxford United in the summer after almost 18 months with Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Philadelphia Union.

USA face Iran in the World Cup tonight, knowing a win could send them through to the knockout stage.

Having spent time in the MLS, Findlay is well-placed to offer an assessment of how popular football is compared to American football, baseball and basketball.

He said: “It’s a sport people are starting to take seriously, a lot of the kids now play it in the street instead of having an American football under their arm.

“The better the league and players get, the more people are going to take notice, and that’s only going to snowball into a bigger thing.”

The US squad includes Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic, plus the likes of Weston McKennie and Giovanni Reyna, who play for Juventus and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

Findlay said: “There’s a lot of good players that are starting to move from America into the European leagues.

“The bigger the sport gets over there, the more players are going to take it up.”