{"id":3987,"date":"2026-07-07T20:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3987"},"modified":"2026-07-07T20:11:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T20:11:00","slug":"american-mens-soccer-fails-to-make-world-cup-progress-whats-next-for-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3987","title":{"rendered":"American men’s soccer fails to make World Cup progress. What’s next for the US?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By RONALD BLUM<\/strong><\/p>\n

SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 For all the growth in American soccer over the past quarter-century, the U.S. men\u2019s national team remains stagnant.<\/p>\n

Read more Every city you can fly to nonstop out of Mineta San Jose International Airport<\/a><\/p>\n

Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie fared no better at the World Cup in 2022 and 2026 than Tim Howard, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore did in 2010 and 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be able to go and compete with some of the best in the world and we just still have that next step to come,\u201d Pulisic said after Monday night\u2019s error-filled 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16.<\/p>\n

For all the billions of dollars invested with the goal of boosting the national team into the world\u2019s elite, the Americans remain soccer plebians.<\/p>\n

After reaching the semifinals of the first World Cup in 1930, the U.S. didn\u2019t even qualify between 1950 and 1990. Since then, the Americans were eliminated in the round of 16 in 1994, 2010, 2014, 2022 and this year, failed to advance past their group in 1990, 1998 and 2006, and flopped in qualifying for 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like you are in a rocket and you improve and you grow. \u2026 It\u2019s not linear,\u201d U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said.<\/p>\n

The U.S. won three games in a World Cup for the first time, beating Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia-Herzegovina while losing to Turkey and Belgium. The Americans benefited as host, a seeded team that didn\u2019t face a top-10 nation before the Red Devils.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

By the next World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco (with three games in South America), Pulisic, McKennie and Adams will be 31.<\/p>\n

Which players increased value for the US national team?<\/h4>\n

Folarin Balogun led the U.S. team with three goals, looking like a top striker, and gained worldwide notoriety when his red card suspension for awkwardly landing on an opponent\u2019s ankle was lifted after a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump. A former Arsenal youth player, the 25-year-old striker is entering the fourth season of a five-year contract with French club Monaco and could be set for a move to a bigger club.<\/p>\n

Malik Tillman became the first player since France\u2019s Bernard Genghini in 1982 to have two free kick goals in a World Cup. The 24-year-old midfielder is entering the second season of a five-year contract with German club Bayer Leverkusen. He had a difficult 2025-26, getting dropped from the starting lineup between late March and the season\u2019s final match.<\/p>\n

Does US coach Mauricio Pochettino stay in the job for another 4 years?<\/h4>\n

Pochettino said he will speak with the U.S. Soccer Federation after a rest period to discuss whether it wants him to stay beyond the expiration of his contract this summer and whether he wants to commit to a four-year cycle.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe had positive conversations with Mauricio before the World Cup about the future. We agreed we would continue those conversations following a chance to rest and reflect post World Cup,\u201d the U.S. Soccer Federation said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cWe have a great deal of respect and gratitude for Mauricio, his staff and everyone part of the program. We have shared excitement about our potential and also shared clarity about the amount of work at all levels still required to achieve our ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Nick Rossi, Jazzopaters ready to deal the Ellingtonia in Stanford, S.F.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Argentine took over from Gregg Berhalter in late 2024 after a\u00a0first-round elimination at the Copa America. His first year included failures to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Nations League.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were in a mess,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen this team show that we can play football. We can play soccer. We can compete. That we need keep improving \u2014 a lot of young players with a lot potential and future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trouble spots on the field need work for the national team<\/h4>\n

Goalkeeper has gone from the United States\u2019 biggest strength from 1990 through 2014 to a huge weakness in the past decade and appears to be at its weakest since the 1980s.<\/p>\n

Long gone are the days when Tony Meola, Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard and Brad Guzan inspired confidence.<\/p>\n

Zack Steffen and Matt Turner both failed to establish themselves with big European teams. Matt Freese, who supplanted Turner as the first-choice starter last year, gifted a goal in the loss to Belgium that will be replayed on blooper reels.<\/p>\n

Gabriel Slonina, Chris Brady, Patrick Schulte and Roman Celentano, who head the next generation, have the next cycle to establish themselves as possible No. 1s.<\/p>\n

Central defense also is a concern. Crystal Palace\u2019s Chris Richards is the only American playing at a top club and his World Cup partner, Tim Ream, at 38 became the oldest U.S. player at any World Cup.<\/p>\n

Qualifying should be easier with 48-team World Cup tournaments<\/h4>\n

With the expansion of the field to 48 nations, including six from North and Central America and the Caribbean, World Cup qualifying is not likely to be challenging for CONCACAF\u2019s powers: Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.<\/p>\n

All three were eliminated in the round of 16 after Cura\u00e7ao, Haiti and Panama were eliminated with last-place finishes in their groups.<\/p>\n

Unless the U.S. shows vast improvement, it will not be seeded for the 2030 World Cup and likely will face a world power in the first round.<\/p>\n

Read more Theories of a Taylor Swift wedding documentary debunked<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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