Patrick Zeng
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| USA Today |
This was not how it was supposed to be. We were supposed to be on our way to Russia, on our way to our eighth consecutive World Cup, and on our way to cementing ourselves as a rising power in international soccer. Last night was supposed to be a night of relief and joy, but instead it ended in anguish and failure. And a lot of that comes down to the phrase I've been using, "supposed to".
Alexi Lalas said it best a month ago when he dropped his now famous "soft, tattooed millionaires" line to describe this iteration of the United States National Team. And after what was seen from the first half performance last night, he couldn't have been more right. The U.S. entered halftime down 2-0 to a team that had one win through all of their Hex qualifying. The performance was gutless, heartless and underlined everything wrong with the current U.S. Soccer setup. I have been a large supporter of US skipper Michael Bradley, but last night simply wasn't good enough. There was no emotion, motivation and no fire in the way he played for a team that should have been playing for their lives. You saw drive in Christian Pulisic, a kid playing in his first sequence of world cup qualifiers, as he screamed at his teammates and officials to try and push his team over the edge. And that lack of fire is simply unacceptable when it comes to what is expected of your captain. In a game that was going to define their World Cup futures, the U.S. decided to take the night off. They assumed they would just qualify with Russia because we're the United States. That arrogance is a vital failure in what made this machine malfunction.
We aren't Germany, we aren't Spain, we aren't Brazil, so where in the world does this arrogance come from? The sense of entitlement last night was apparent and it was disgusting. Soccer in this country has been growing and that rise has been so fun to watch, but we are far from those European or South American powers. Our players have to EARN this respect and this stature and as they and the rest of the soccer world saw last night, that goal is yet to be accomplished despite what the players thought when they took the field last night. Last night was a failure of epic proportions for the USMNT and the shock-waves will be felt all the way through next summer's World Cup in Russia as we all must now wait until 2022 for our boys to have a chance to showcase themselves on the world's biggest stage. So with over 600 days until the next competitive match(the 2019 Gold Cup), changes must be made. So where does USA Soccer go from here?
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| Fusion |
It starts with coaching and as great as it was to take home the Gold Cup this summer, Bruce Arena failed at his job. He was tasked with righting the ship and getting this team to qualify for Russia and he came up short. The next coach of this team is absolutely crucial as it will truly be a new era for the national team. Will they go for a manager that has loads of European experience, or do they go domestic? This is a key question they will have to answer. As much as I would love to say they will go after a Luis Enrique or Carlo Ancelotti type, I just don't think it's all that realistic. I am going to peg Caleb Porter as my pick for next manager of the national team. He's young, he's fiery and he has an MLS Cup to his name and has built the Portland Timbers into perennial contenders. He also knows how to win at home, something the USMNT could gain a lot from learning how to do.
Unlike the many directions the coaching search can go, the roster should only have one direction. This team should be built around the greatest soccer talent this country has ever produced. The 19 year old from Hershey, Pennsylvania must be the foundation for every other piece of this team going forward. And I would like to see him play centrally rather than on the wing so that he has more of a chance to influence the games. Players like Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley should be given their final curtain calls and thanked for all the games they've given us. But it's time for a change. That group won't be here for Qatar 2022, so there is no sense in keeping them around as US Soccer rebuilds. It's time for a load of roster turnover as the USMNT picks itself up from the ashes. Last night also showcased the utter failure of American soccer to develop midfielders. There was no balance in the team last night and it has been an issue for many other qualifiers as well. There was an attack and a defense last night with no middle ground to speak of. This left the American defenders exposed and made it so there was no link up play with the attackers. This country is not short on athletes. What it is short on is technical players that can dictate a game to the tempo that the team wants to play. The national team also lacks a true poacher at striker. Jozy Altidore, as talented as he can be is incredibly inconsistent. And as much as I would love to say the future is Bobby Wood, he has struggled to make an imprint on games and was virtually non-existent last night. There is a lot to be done in order to get this team where it needs to be. A start would certainly be to give Pulisic the captain's armband, build around John Brooks and DeAndre Yedlin in defense, develop true midfielders and the need for an out and out number nine to spearhead the attack.
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| NewYorker |
As for the fears that the World Cup will now be ignored in this country with the U.S. missing out, they are as misplaced as they are ignorant. Soccer in this country has been on the rise and that rise does not stop here. The English Premier League, Champions League and the Bundesliga are regularly featured every weekend on Fox and NBC with growing audiences. This country does love its soccer, even if Americans are not involved. And the World Cup is the world's greatest spectacle with the best players in the world playing during the summer months. It will still be an incredible event even without the Americans present and one I wouldn't miss for anything.
Last night's failure in Trinidad and Tobago was the final nail in the U.S coffin for the most underwhelming and disappointing qualifying run in American Soccer history. Of course talent plays a role in not getting to Russia, but what hurts USMNT fans the most is the arrogance and entitlement that allowed such a disaster to happen. Last night was the death of an era of American soccer. And from all this destruction, we are now led into an absolutely crucial point for the entire entity that is United States Soccer. The right coach must be appointed, a new culture must be ushered in, old players must be shown the door, new players have to be developed and the damn near un-natural talents of Christian Pulisic must be taken advantage of. Last night was the darkest night in U.S. Soccer history, and now it is the federation's job to get up, splash some cold water on their face and rebuild.
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