Team USA Blows It
Tuesday was the darkest day in United States soccer history. Dramatic? Maybe, but also true. If the United States Men’s National Team won or drew against Trinidad and Tobago, it would qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Lose, and if Honduras and Panama beat Mexico and Costa Rica, the U.S. would be out.
It should have been so easy. Trinidad and Tobago had won only one qualifier out of nine and had lost six straight. It started a lineup of backups and young players. On the other hand, Honduras and Panama faced the two best teams in the region.
But the U.S. blew it. They spent the week complaining about the field and how difficult qualifying had been—ignoring that the difficulties were self-inflicted. They started the game slow, not like a do-or-die situation. T&T scored on a fluky own goal, then doubled up with a long-range strike you would never expect from a right back who had never scored for the national team. Down 2-0 at the break, the U.S. needed help.
Things seemed to turn up after halftime. Christian Pulisic halved the deficit, and Mexico and Costa Rica both had leads. So even if the U.S. failed to equalize, it still looked like qualification was coming.
Then the wheels fell off. Honduras and Panama equalized within minutes—although Panama’s “goal” never crossed the line. Honduras took the lead on Mexico with a shot that hit the cross bar and went in off the back of the goalkeeper’s head. Then Panama scored in the final few minutes, and suddenly the U.S. had to score to survive. But, save one Clint Dempsey shot off the post, the U.S. barely threatened. And now it will miss the World Cup for the first time since 1986. To put that in perspective, I had not been born the last time the U.S. missed a World Cup.
What Happened?
Smarter people are already offering solutions, but I’ve been thinking about what went wrong. Much of the conversation has focused on structural problems, coaching, development, and so on. We need to improve all of those things, but I blame the players.
Too many seemed not to care, or at least they played that way. Needing only a draw, the players showed no heart and no fight. Most played with less effort than I see in my Sunday league. In the last fifteen minutes of the game, just one goal away, players still casually jogged to take throw-ins and free kicks. They lost almost every second ball. You cannot excuse that level of effort.
What Now?
Significant change, I hope. This will set soccer back a bit. Many people watch only when the U.S. plays in the World Cup; it will have been eight years (at least) before the sport piques their interest again. Many kids might pick a different sport next summer because they never saw someone like Pulisic score against Brazil or Germany in the World Cup.
Still, I’m bullish on the future of the sport. Just look at the reaction to Tuesday. I saw anger, sadness, and disbelief, but little ambivalence. This was major, national news. Beyond that, MLS is expanding, and so is attendance. Atlanta United drew over 70,000 fans for a game last month; FC Cincinnati averages 20,000 and isn’t even in MLS. The Premier League and Bundesliga are widely available on TV. And the melting-pot nature of our country ensures that millions will watch the World Cup even without the U.S., cheering for the countries of their birth or ancestry. (Here’s hoping Greece qualifies).
On top of that, youth soccer continues to grow. Millions play in youth leagues, more than in any sport save basketball. Compare that to baseball, which is less popular with children than soccer these days, or to football, where safety concerns have decimated youth participation. More young players means a bigger and better player pool moving forward. Young players also become adult fans—a phenomenon that has driven much of the increase in MLS fandom and supporters’ groups.
Finally, it looks like the U.S. will host the 2026 World Cup. Our country is tailor-made for that tournament, and the buildup will start as early as 2022. The 1994 World Cup, hosted when soccer was irrelevant, was so successful that it spawned MLS. How much more could the 2026 World Cup do, with soccer already in the mainstream?
Tuesday’s result was painful. Next summer will be depressing. That’s the nature of sports, though. Most of the time it hurts, but that makes the success even sweeter. Hopefully, U.S. soccer will use this failure as a springboard to revamp and improve the program.
Comments or feedback for the author? E-mail Ryan Harmanis.