US Mens National Team fails to qualify for World Cup 2018

[MurderMittenLiberal]

For the first time since 1986, the USA Mens National Team will miss the tourney. The Pay to play system clearly isn't helping the sport of soccer.

"Top Drawer Soccer and many parents and coaches surveyed agree that the biggest problem for talented young American players is the pay-to-play model. Players who are under 15 and want to compete at a high level need to impress in a tryout and then their parents need to shell out between $1,000 to $1,500 per year. Every coach has a story about a talented kid who disappeared suddenly, probably due to financial issues or a lack of parental support."

-Elliot Turner
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/16/why-cant-america-develop-a-soccer-star


I don't see how this system can be overhauled to the point where the USA can compete with other nations such as Spain, Portugal, Germany, Brasil etc.. At least anytime soon. These countries have had futbol as a part of their culture for so long. Children in Spain for instance start developing their skills at such a young age. Soccer is such a huge part of the national identity, maybe even more so than baseball is to the USA. The USA hasn't had a breakout clear star since Landon Donovan and I'm not so optimistic about the near future.

[Moostache]

1. Well at least we won't be seeing Trump in Russia for THAT! (n/t)

[PoorMonger]

4. Way to find the silver lining

[shenmue]

2. Dammit

[ClarendonDem]

3. The loss to

T&T, which was in last place in the group, is the worse loss for the men’s team in decades. Failing to qualify for the World Cup is a disaster.

[angrychair]

5. Lets be clear

I’ve been involved in youth soccer for over 10 years and both my sons have been on recreational soccer teams and their high school varsity soccer teams and both are decent players but I’ve never had them on a club team because we can’t afford it.
It cost significantly more than $1,500 a year. There is equipment and tournament fees and travel cost. Spending as much as $20,000 or more a year is not unheard of to get your kid the best experience and as many training opportunities as possible.
Could my kids have been successful on a club team? Been good enough for MLS? We will never know if that was possible for them or possible for the thousands of other discouraged children that could not possibly hope to afford entry into a program and that is the point.

The pay-to-play model will eventually kill soccer in our country.
The country of Wales has a FIFA world ranking of 14th and the US is 28th.
Wales is slightly smaller than New Jersey but with a third of the population yet still manages to field a better national team than us.

Trinidad-Tabago is a small island nation with a population of about a million yet they beat us yesterday.

Seriously, we are doing it wrong and if we don’t figure out a better way forward than soccer will wither and die here

[bluecollar2]

6. only way for the USA to contend

Is to restructure the game in the USA so that the league promotes and demote based upon merit.

Do it like the rest of the world...

[camelfan]

7. As I see it

in other countries, their best athletes play futbol. Here, our best athletes play football and basketball. Where are our enforcers on defense? Where are our 6'5" players who should be winning every corner kick in the air? Germany has them. Brazil, no, but they have players whose lives are devoted to futbol and who have been playing from the time they could run. And we all remember what Germany did to Brazil last time. Their technicians, dispassionate and skilled, played as a team, contested every ball, and destroyed Brazil.

In Brazil.