What can the US soccer team learn from their World Cup exit?

The 2018 World Cup kicks off in Russia on 14 June, and the US soccer team will be glaringly absent from the sporting extravaganza. Despite having qualified for every World Cup tournament since 1986, the USA crashed out of their World Cup qualifiers with an embarrassing defeat against Trinidad and Tobago.

The shocking result marked a dismal run of form in their CONCACAF World Cup group, and when Panama’s late goal sealed the fate of the US soccer team, it left many fans wondering where it all went wrong?

Was management to blame?
Head coach, Bruce Arena, was understandably devastated by the US team’s shocking performance against Trinidad and Tobago. But the ex-LA Galaxy coach came in for plenty of criticism over his team selection for the match.

His predecessor, Jurgen Klinsmann, was booted out after defeats by Mexico and Costa Rica in the World Cup qualifiers in November 2016. Whilst hopes were high that Arena could turn things around, he bizarrely fielded the same tired team that had played against Panama for their critical game with Trinidad and Tobago. And with an evident lack of team spirit within the USA side, it was clear that their shock defeat meant that Arena had to go.

Lack of competitiveness
Whilst the USA soccer team suffered plenty of bad luck with injuries to the likes of Clint Dempsey  during the World Cup qualifiers, it was evident that the side also lacked the competitive spirit necessary to play in Russia this summer. 

If you look at any of the teams featured in the betting odds at https://openodds.com/roy-richie-review/ for the 2018 World Cup, they all worked incredibly hard to get there, but USA’s dismal match against Trinidad and Tobago revealed a very lackluster side. Whether this is just a passing phase or something more ingrained is hard to judge, but something needs to happen soon if USA don’t want to become a third-rate soccer nation.

Too much emphasis on Pusilic?
There is no denying the fact that Christian Pulisic is the star player of the USA team. The young midfielder has dazzled European football fans with some spectacular performances for the German club side, Borussia Dortmund. But with five goals and four assists for Pulisic in an otherwise sorry campaign, it’s hard to imagine how USA could do without the talented star. 

With aging players like Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey set to exit international football soon, it’s evident that more needs to be done to get the USA team back on track. And as the USA under-23s missed out on qualifying again for the Olympic men’s soccer, it shows that there needs to be some serious work done if USA want to compete at the highest level.

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