Since the days of Jurgen Klinsmann, and even before that, American soccer fans have had a bone to pick with the US Men’s National Team.
Performances have never been quite good enough. The failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup was probably the biggest recent disappointment, especially given it was sealed with a 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago.
If we look back to the early 2000s, the national team looked like it was making real progress. Reaching the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup was the best American result at the competition since 1930.
Since then, a new generation of players have taken over from the likes of Dempsey and Donovan, and results have been below expectations.
After losing games to Jamaica and Venezuela earlier in 2019, the USMNT recently suffered its first loss to Canada in 34 years.
What do we expect of the USMNT?
Many American soccer fans are quick to criticize the recent form of the men’s national team. The fact that the women’s team just won the World Cup prompts the obvious question “why can’t the men do better?”.
However, there is a case to be made that the USMNT is not under performing. If the failure to qualify in 2018 is considered the result of a simple drop in form, then it can be argued that the team has done quite well on the whole over the last decade.
The USA is currently ranked 22nd in the world, which isn’t bad for a nation without the soccer culture of Europe or South America. To make a comparison, Canada comes in at 73, and Australia at 42. These are both first-world countries where soccer isn’t the number one sport, as is the case in America.
This raises the question: what should our expectations be of the USMNT? Qualifying for the World Cup and being competitive in CONCACAF is the bare minimum, obviously. But are we being too harsh on the national team?
Most fans would say no, and argue that the team is massively under performing. There’s good reason for this.
While the USMNT is ranked higher than similar countries with a similar soccer culture, America’s population advantage means that it should really be doing better.
Australia has fewer people than Texas, and Canada has a smaller population than California. It’s a given that these countries are ranked lower than the USA.
Given the resources America has, and the fact that the women’s team is the best in the world, the USMNT could definitely be doing better.
What’s gone wrong in the last decade or so?
The pay-to-play model
There’s a single factor that holds the USMNT back in comparison to other countries.
It’s not the manager. We’ve had five in the last ten years, and none have had a particularly successful run.
It’s not the leadership. Plenty of successful national teams have poorly-run domestic governing bodies.
It’s not other sports siphoning off athletic talent once a child reaches high school. With the number of people in the country, there should be plenty of athletes to go around.
The truth is, the pay-to-play system is what really holds the USA back.
When it costs up to $10,000 to play youth soccer – and this doesn’t even include costs for basic equipment like shin guards. Many families, even those from the middle class, are simply priced out.
Soccer is extremely inaccessible to kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. Plenty of Latino kids who have a huge soccer culture in the family simply can’t afford to play. They end up giving up soccer in favor of baseball or basketball, or quitting sports altogether.
As a result, there are fewer talented kids staying in the youth system through high school. Many of the most gifted players don’t get the opportunity to really hone their skills.
However, even for those that can pay to play, some argue that the youth system doesn’t provide kids what they need to excel at the top level.
Concerns have been raised that training methods are too structured, which is stifling creativity in players at a young age.
As a result, fewer players have the ability necessary to transition to clubs outside of their home country. By spending their youth years in the MLS, many of these players are missing out on opportunities to develop their skills in European or South American leagues.
Fixing the problem
Moving beyond pay-to-play is a pipe dream. It’s important to remember that the money that parents spend isn’t entirely wasted – it goes towards paying professional coaches, and paying for travel to play against more competitive teams.
Similar problems exist in the UK, although not on the same scale. Giving more kids the opportunity to play youth soccer for cheap is going to be a very difficult thing to achieve, at least in the near future.
However, there are steps that could be taken to improve the performance of the USMNT over the next decade and beyond.
Youth academies should promote greater creativity and freedom in coaching kids. And there should be more scholarships available for young, promising players from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Also, once players graduate high school, there should be a greater push to get them to play overseas. Players like Christian Pulisic, John Brooks, and Zack Steffen have all been able to further their careers after having the chance to play in Germany from a young age.
More players should follow in their footsteps and play for European teams in their youth, rather than relying solely on the MLS as the foundation for their development. Not just because some European leagues are more competitive than the MLS, but because playing overseas gives an athlete exposure to foreign coaching styles, enabling them to develop into a more rounded player.
