July 22, 2026
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The first pillar of hope for the U.S. team was the selection of former Argentina national team player and prior club manager with Espanyol, Tottenham, Paris St. Germain, and Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino. For fans of the United States Men's National Team (USMNT), it was the first time they had confidence that the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) did their homework and "got their man." Pochettino had an impressive pedigree, and he had dealt with high-pressure situations in some of the top leagues in Spain, England, and France. Optimism was in abundance about the potential of the men's program.
The World Cup Draw took place in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center, and the USMNT was placed in Group D, along with Paraguay (1st game), Australia (2nd game), and Türkiye (final game). Frankly, I thought the U.S. men had manageable and winnable games against Paraguay and Australia and was genuinely worried about the final game against the Turks. The games themselves were full of surprising results, including the opening American victory over Paraguay (4-1) and a drama-filled, war-of-words game against the Socceroos of Australia, but the U.S. triumphed 2-0. It was the first time that an American men's team won the first two games in its group, and it also locked up winning the group as well. Some fans wanted the USMNT to make the effort to win its last group game despite this, but Pochettino rested his starters. Türkiye's coach gave his team one final chance to redeem its failed World Cup (they lost both of their games against Paraguay and Australia) and beat Team USA, 3-2.
As they say, the group games can be fun and entertaining, but real teams show their mettle by winning the knockout round games. The United States has always had a hard time moving past the Round of 16. Their best showing was a quarterfinal berth at the 2002 edition in Japan and South Korea, where they had an uncalled handball against Germany away from advancing to the semifinals.
With an expanded field of teams, there was an added round of 32 to the tournament, and the United States' first test was against Bosnia & Herzegovina, a solid but beatable team from Europe. It was an uneven first half, but it concluded with Folarin Balogun, the lone striker, scoring just before halftime. During the second half, the Americans began to assert their game plan and were controlling the ball with their movement, but the momentum shifted when Balogun was charged with an aggressive challenge on a Bosnian player. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) helped the field official determine that a red card was warranted. So, in a knockout round game, the United States had to play a man down and somehow held on to survive. It was a nerve-wracking 30 minutes until Malik Tillman was given the chance to take a free kick about 15 yards away after a foul on an American player. His goal changed the game again, and a confident U.S. team prevented any chance for Bosnia & Herzegovina to get back into the game and moved on to the Round of 16.
The next test was a turning point for American soccer and the men's national team. The team had advanced to play Belgium, a group of players with superior technical ability. Most importantly, the game was to be played on American soil, in Seattle. This progressive city has embraced soccer, with a stadium that is the loudest for its National Football League (NFL) team, the Seattle Seahawks. Everything was in place for this game to be one of the most important and memorable, with seismic effects on its historical timeline if a victory was attainable.
Unfortunately, from the opening whistle, the Americans seemed shell-shocked, with erratic passing, losing balls to the opponents all too quickly, very little control and possession, and were on their back heel for almost the entire match. Malik Tillman was able to bring the game level (1-1) on a gorgeous free kick, but minutes after that elation, the USMNT were down again, 2-1. They never recovered, and Belgium added two more goals to drive the nail in the coffin of any chance of the team making history on home soil. One of which was an embarrassing goalkeeping error by Matt Freese, which will follow him throughout his life. He will have a hard time living it down, and I feel for him. Social media from Belgium was unforgiving, and in the United States, was equally unabashed to show their disappointment at the way the Americans bowed out of the tournament.
For USMNT fans such as myself, I was hoping that with the improved quality of play of our players, many of whom are in Europe, and the World Cup on home soil, I felt things would be different. I had hoped that crowd support from their countrymen would push the men into uncharted territory, perhaps the semifinals, but it was not in the cards. Being a fan of the U.S. men is like being a diehard fan of the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, or New York Jets. For those fans, before each season begins, hope springs eternal, and optimism has a chance, but as the season progresses, you come to realize that it is not going to happen, and joy leaves your body. Despite this, believing one day things will be different is what keeps us fans going, persisting with our fandom until we see that dreamed-of success.
And as President Kennedy once said, "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan." Everyone wants to take credit when things go well, but no one claims responsibility when things do not go as planned. With the failure of the USMNT to make it to a respectable level in the tournament, pundits, former players, and others all point the finger at various areas that were blamed. The LA Times's Kevin Baxter laid out some of the problems and issues, but I appended my opinions.
1) Youth Development and "Pay to Play:" The United States has the largest number of participants playing soccer in the world (14 million), but it does not produce the type of players that France, Spain or Germany does because our system of development is run like a business, which relies on parents who can afford expensive travel soccer, rather than being heavily subsidized by wealthy clubs, local communities and other affluent benefactors. I have mentioned this problem before, and until the United States becomes more ambitious in making the sport accessible to all socio-economic backgrounds, the U.S. men will run into this problem. It is a reason why the American men have not produced an elite-level player that is considered "world class."
2) Tactical Identity: Most countries have a set of tactics and playing style that endures despite coaches and players being interchangeable. Take Spain for example. All of their players, regardless of which club they play for, know their roles on the national team, their formation style, and what the general game plan is. game plan. They keep their shape and discipline, wear down teams with pinpoint passing and excellent pressing when they lose the ball, and get it back quickly. These tactics and roles are bred from an early age, and players, as they progress, never lose the ethos of those tactical beliefs. It doesn't vary or is drastically reimagined. The U.S. men always change their tactics every four-year cycle, depending on the player pool and the preferences of the coach. That instability doesn't allow for players to understand what is expected if they get called up as-needed throughout their careers.
3) Competition from other sports: This is a serious problem, especially with lucrative options in the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL). Even if a talented athlete loves soccer (like former NFL player Chad "OchoCinco), he pursued a pro football career because it allowed him to achieve generational wealth; most will go where the money is. Major League Soccer (MLS) doesn't have that yet, so it is hard to mold and groom elite soccer players in the American domestic league, unlike top-flight options in England, Spain, Germany, France or Italy.
4) Confidence on the ball and acute tactical vision: If you watch Spain and the Japanese women's team, two groups that have mastered tactical vision and superb passing ability, you notice that the U.S. men don't seem to possess those qualities. Not to mention "first touch," the ability to quickly control the ball and a confidence in how each individual player deals with nerves and big moments. The Belgium game was a quick reminder of these deficiencies.
5) Lack of serious competition: The United States over the last 20 years has, off and on, mastered regional supremacy in its region, the Confederation of North, Central America & Caribbean Football (CONCACAF). It shares regional titles with Mexico, but has seen other nations improve their soccer and provide an upset or two, like Panama, Canada, Jamaica, or Costa Rica. However, it does not allow the American men to challenge themselves against better nations, unlike teams in Europe and South America. Geography is not something the USSF can really change or improve. There have been rumors that due to more teams being included in the 2030 FIFA World Cup (64 teams), there may be some cooperation and joint qualification with the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). That should give the USMNT better competition to determine its strength as a team.
6) Confidence or Nerves: This reared its head when the USMNT performed one of their worst games against the Belgians in the Round of 32. Before that, in the group stage and against Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Americans showed cohesion, flair in passing, and some panache in their confidence in moving the ball. All that disappeared against Belgium. Was it President Trump meddling in a red card against Folarin Balogun, and having his good friend, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, "suspend" the infraction so that the USMNT's star player would be available? Could that have affected US team morale if favoritism played a part? It was motivation for the Belgians, of that I am certain.
While MLS has made progress in being a competitive and secure option for aspiring American players, it is not at the level of those leagues in Europe. Our best players want to play at the highest level, and will seek out options abroad instead. The other issues mentioned need to be addressed, or the USMNT will remain unable to advance past the Round of 16 at every future tournament. The World Cup on home soil was the best chance to advance farther than ever before, since host nations tend to get favorable draws. That is probably the biggest missed opportunity in this World Cup's post-mortem, after being bounced out of the tournament. I hope the USSF can be aggressive in the development of younger players, improve American coaching, and recruit European coaches for their tactical knowledge (the Netherlands had its fingerprints on the success and vast improvement of the technical abilities of many teams, including the Japanese men's team) to expedite and improve our soccer IQ.
I dread to think that whenever the US men compete in the World Cup, it is going to be Groundhog Day every time. If that is the case, then USMNT fans should organize therapy and coping sessions with Cowboys, Browns, and Jets fans. We can share in our misery together.
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