By Kevin White
In a loss to Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2018. It will be the first time since 1986 that the USMNT won’t be in the World Cup. In failing to qualify, the team sets back its international standing and national popularity.
The USMNT has been one of the least-competitive American soccer teams. The Women’s National Team (USWNT) has been a dominant force in the sport. Both the Under-17 and Under-20 men’s soccer teams are competitive. The USWNT Under-20 team finished fourth in the World Cup last year. Out of all national soccer teams, the USMNT has both the lowest floor and the lowest ceiling. What can be done to change it?
The first solution would be institutional overhaul. After failing to qualify, manager Bruce Arena resigned. Arena had acquired the job less than a year ago, when Jurgen Klinsmann was fired. Senior Nathan Otto (Portland, OR) believes that Arena’s resignation is not enough. Otto believes that “Sunil [Gulati, the president of US Soccer] needs to go.” While Gulati may survive due to the success of the other soccer teams, finding a good manager is an important step to success. A good manager will ensure that the USMNT’s floor won’t be as low, and hopefully prevent another failed qualifying.
There is still the question of raising the ceiling. The best World Cup finish in the past half-century is eighth, and the team had made two straight rounds of 16. Early exits in the elimination stage will not bring more popularity to soccer.
If the goal is winning a World Cup, there needs to be some change. Senior Adrian Harter (Lake Oswego, OR) believes that the Major League Soccer (MLS) has been an impediment to the USMNT. The competition is not at a level that improves the players for the National Team. If the USMNT wants to improve, Harter believes that the best players need to play in the stronger European leagues.
Blaming the MLS and encouraging players to go to Europe, does create a dilemma. While the current players would improve, a worse MLS product would dampen soccer’s popularity. Without a more popular American soccer league, there will never be the interest needed to get the best athletes into the United States soccer system.
As the World Cup occurs without the USMNT, the future is in question. A new manager has yet to be named. Whoever is chosen will have a team smarting from the loss, and looking to return to the World Cup in 2022. They will also have Christian Pulisic, widely considered the best American soccer talent of all time, entering his prime. The best hope for the men’s team is that more talent like Pulisic emerges. What it will take to induce such an emergence is up in the air. Let’s just hope that whoever is in charge will look to the system instituted by the three-time World Cup champion USWNT.