US Mens Team Lays an Egg in WC Final Qualifier....

#1
...against Trinidad and Tobago (?!). Not sure if I'm disappointed or relieved to not have to watch them "compete" in the 2018 World Cup. To lose with so much at stake shows a) how untalented and b) unmotivated they are....I'm thinking more a than b.

The big question is, who will stop Team Germany next year? I've grown tired of them, and hope someone pastes them like Team France did in Euro 16.

Representing North America then will be Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama. Perhaps 1 of the 4 make it into elimination play, maybe?
 
#2
Embarrassing what happened. If you can't get a result against the last place team in the hex, you don't deserve a spot in the tournament.

Honduras still has to play against Australia,I think, to get a spot.

I would say only Mexico is favorite to advance from pool play, Costa Rica could depending on draw. Panama not likely.

I'd like to see Argentina and Messi win the trophy, other than that I'll be rooting for Spain.
 
#3
I LOVE watching the World Cup every 4 years. I was not even aware that the US is in jeopardy of not qualifying because they have never been in danger in my life. I always just started paying attention when the tournament started. I'm extremely shocked and saddened by this result as it will be an additional 4 years before we can see the red white and blue in the World Cup again.... So disappointing.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#4
This Mens USA squad didn't deserve to be in the World Cup if they couldn't beat a Trinidad & Tobago team that was at the bottom of the table. Such a pitiful performance. With that said, I am holding out hope that they host the World Cup in 2026.
 
#5
They dominated Panama 4-0 last Friday in a critical game and then fell on their faces last night. That sums up their inconsistent performance throughout the qualifying process. Even if they made it to the World Cup, there is no way they would have made it out of their group. They need to clean house.
 
#6
You can't really say that they wouldn't have made it out of their group without knowing who they drew. The team developed a bit of a pattern of showing up for better competition and underperforming against lesser competition and this predates even Klinsmann. Interestingly he suddenly looks to be proven right about US talent coming home to MLS and dropping off in quality of play. Bedoya and Bradley have regressed on the international level. Other once promising players like Mix and Brek Shea don't even rate.

Much has been said about Pulisic missing his first chance to shine on the international stage and how it may set his development back but the player I really feel bad for is Aron Jóhannsson. I'm definitely rooting for Iceland in the spot USA would have occupied.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#8
what a sack of disappointment. I really think Pulisic could've been the next face of sports in America.
The kid is 19 years old, it's too early to be labeling him anything right now or the face of anything until he gains more experience and hopefully next time around, qualifies for the big one. He is doing all right for himself in the Bundesliga.
 
#9
The kid is 19 years old, it's too early to be labeling him anything right now or the face of anything until he gains more experience and hopefully next time around, qualifies for the big one. He is doing all right for himself in the Bundesliga.
tbh, it's too late now. he really could've been the face of American sports. It has more to do with patriotism though. Soccer is the #1 sport worldwide, but the US has always sucked at it. The story line of a 19yearold from a small town in Hershey, Pennsylvania carrying the entire US men's soccer team on his back and achieving glory over the top soccer nations? Nothing can beat that. We wouldn't have to win all the way, but getting into the quarter finals would've done it for Pulisic.
No one cares about the USA basketball team in the Olympics because we dominate every year. There is no other country who could even be considered in the same league as us. But soccer? That's a completely whole different story. Young rising 19yearold American Soccer Star.

By the time we'll be in the next Cup(if we qualify), he'll be 24 by that time. Unless he's become one of the world's best player, the story won't be the same. This has hurt soccer growth and relevancy in the US. Our best men's soccer players in the last few years has been Dempsey and Howard. And...they're completely irrelevant and unknown to most Americans. Hope Solo and Alex Morgan are much much much more popular than the entire men's team combined(even when including Pulisic). US men's soccer is a joke in the US. It's why Americans could care less about soccer as a whole.

Don't get me started on the MLS... For me, watching the MLS is like watching my old highschool football team. The players aren't good. The coaching isn't good. The opponents aren't good. It's terrible football all around and I only watch it to support a local thing.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#10
tbh, it's too late now. he really could've been the face of American sports. It has more to do with patriotism though. Soccer is the #1 sport worldwide, but the US has always sucked at it. The story line of a 19yearold from a small town in Hershey, Pennsylvania carrying the entire US men's soccer team on his back and achieving glory over the top soccer nations? Nothing can beat that. We wouldn't have to win all the way, but getting into the quarter finals would've done it for Pulisic.
No one cares about the USA basketball team in the Olympics because we dominate every year. There is no other country who could even be considered in the same league as us. But soccer? That's a completely whole different story. Young rising 19yearold American Soccer Star.

By the time we'll be in the next Cup(if we qualify), he'll be 24 by that time. Unless he's become one of the world's best player, the story won't be the same. This has hurt soccer growth and relevancy in the US. Our best men's soccer players in the last few years has been Dempsey and Howard. And...they're completely irrelevant and unknown to most Americans. Hope Solo and Alex Morgan are much much much more popular than the entire men's team combined(even when including Pulisic). US men's soccer is a joke in the US. It's why Americans could care less about soccer as a whole.

Don't get me started on the MLS... For me, watching the MLS is like watching my old highschool football team. The players aren't good. The coaching isn't good. The opponents aren't good. It's terrible football all around and I only watch it to support a local thing.
Yes, Soccer is the most popular sport worldwide but that really holds no merit as it pertains to the States. You said it yourself, no one cares about US Soccer and rightfully so. They haven't been relevant and haven't done a thing in the World Cup for the longest time. Besides, the NFL & MLB dominate in terms of popularity.

I don't think it's fair to Pulisic to say it's too late. He can't and won't carry a team on his own, I really don't know many players that can do that on their own unless he turns into a goal scoring machine and as far as I'm concerned, the verdict is still out on his potential.

The MLS is putrid to watch, players that are shells of themselves come to the MLS to gain one last pay day. I don't know how long the MLS will continue to go on but it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest is we see the end of it in the next decade.