TimmySmith

My point being the Team Germany may be a top 10 side overall. Team US may not be 200, so claiming we are 30 in FIFA rankings is technically true, but has little basis for the quality of the side. Trust me, I was Caps losing in the 1st round disappointed when the US lost. We just weren't good.

The miracle on ice was perhaps the greatest hockey team in the world (soccer analogy Barcelona) vs the US Amateurs (soccer analogy Maryland Terps) . Russia has beaten the US 10-3 one month prior to the miracle on ice. This was no miracle on turf. Not even close. If we were to rank all soccer sides, everywhere, mixing Club sides with National sides, the US side might not be top 200. The USMNT just isn't very good, they didn't qualify for the WC. Don't allow your disappointment to inflate their abilities.

Not exactly. We field a team that mostly plays in a 3rd rate league and they do also. The experiment that the MLS can help the national team is over. The US is not soccer crazy enough to use our huge populace to our advantage. Probably never will be.

I don't buy into conspiracies. This is a flat out fact. We all knew Mexico would lay down in the 2nd half. We also know that concacaf is a 3rd rate organization geared to pushing the Central American teams in for some reason. Thus the non goal by Panama. In 2017, with everything at stake, every pitch outside the US and Mexico is a shameful disgrace, the refs will not make a call south of the border and there is no replay.

It's not dead, but it just suffered an ultimate revenue loss that could be in the billions. Pulisic just lost a few million over the next year. That could translate to to 8 or more figures over the next 5. We'll never know if Klinsmann would have qualified. Didn't look good. His philosophy has born out to be the correct one. US soccer will be blown up. No choice. There are only 3=4 players who will be around in 5 years anyway.

Klinsmann was right. MLSers ain't good enough. Omar never sees a squad coached by Jurgen.

Omar. Why?

Nobody knows what the protest is about, much less cares. NFL players had 2 years to follow Kaep and pretty much didn't. Now they kneel to try to get back at Trump. So he antagonizes them. Then, today idiot Jamele Hill tells people not to use NFL sponsors products. Which is almost exactly what Trump wanted people to do in the first place. All of which hurts the NFL and the players. They don't realize that they are doing this to themselves.

With Pigrome or Hill the Terps are a 15pt dog and probably play to about that. It's extremely disappointing to continually run out of talent before they even get to the big boys. Another year gone.

As Pulisic gets better it shows how bad the rest are. Bradley and Gonzales can be replaced at any time.

GB Alexi Lalas. He's 100% right. This team is WAY more talented on paper than any of the USMTs that cruised through qualifying. They were hungry, these guys aren't. It's that simple.

On Johnson's long run, the final block, 50 yards downfield, is made by Kasim Hill. Unreal. Watched it 10 times and I still can't believe how fast Hill got down there.

As long as we are throwing out names. Why on earth is Aron Johansson in siberia from the USMNT? He has fallen from favor on his club, mainly due to injury. But that that shouldn't have any bearing on the US squad. Another example of MLS players seemingly getting preferential nods over an international caught in the politics of a completely dysfunctional club.

Agree with 1st paragraph. Those Americans watching the WC are watching every team but rooting for the US. We are desperate for the US to compete every 4 years. Agree with 2nd paragraph. Disagree with some of the 3rd. The MLS itself is a monopoly and is really only interested in it's best interests. It needs it's top players on the USMNT and has the control to make that happen. Unfortunately that is contrary to WC success. A true North/South American Champions League would be a great step in the right direction. Paying washed up internationals is a waste, IMO, but I assume the MLS has run the numbers on it. As said before in this thread, American Soccer needs promotion/relegation to keep everything fresh on the lower end.

Those rules were more guidelines when teams were full of homegrown talent, now they are minimums. Will NEVER, EVER, happen, even if it would be a revolutionary development for soccer everywhere. Same with the Hunt Cup, open it up to more teams. Never happen.

Most of what you say is spot on. However, unlike our other professional leagues, in soccer, here and abroad, it is incumbent on the professional leagues to develop homegrown talent. It's an industry in South America. Becoming less so in England.

So many things going on. Klinnsman was 100% right about the development of US Soccer, as in, we start way too late with very poor coaching. But the other side of the sword is that (1) we need instant gratification from the US Team to keep it rolling and (2) there is not a pot of gold at the end of the training window for most kids. A quick numbers comparison of the MLS and EPL. Seattle Sounders are roughly 1/2 foreign born. The American half features a great many older players. So much for the development of US players. A quick look at Man U's roster shows just 9 English players. I assume other EPL teams are following a similar path. Not much pot of gold for English players either, and just look at the English National Team. Honestly, not worlds better than the US. My point being, when your home league, no matter the level of play, is not catering to the development of young homegrown players, the national team is doomed. Lastly, the MLS is inferior, we can all admit it. However it is intrinsically tied to the USMNT. The long term development you speak about would be to dismiss the the older MLS players and focus completely on the younger ones and the internationals. Won't happen, that is the short term gratification of which you speak.

Omar is just awful. Wish he wasn't. Has all the physical skill but makes 3 complete boneheaded plays per match. A healthy Yedlin will make a huge difference.

Solid result when everything was stacked the other way. A miracle really. US need more internationals. Klinnsman was dead on about that.

Just turned on. The pitch is an absolute disgrace. US Open rough is shorter.

When teams bring in their internationals our MLSers can't hang.

3 years ago I would have thought it inconceivable that Julian Green and Aron Johannsson would not be on the roster this late in the campaign. Yedlin and Brooks on the mend. Tonight's lineup should coast through qualifying, but won't get far in the WC.

There are only a handful of 5* and most major colleges don't get a whiff of them. They are the property of Alabama, OSU and a couple of others. Sometimes for odd reasons they fall to a school like MD. To be fair to the 5*, Alabama and OSU turn them into guaranteed 1st rounders so why would they go elsewhere?

A heads up for those who have internet without cable and want to see the Nats. Always search in Youtube live for Nationals and more often than not someone has put it on there. It may be the out of town broadcast, but it's better than nothing. And you can watch it on your phone without MLB.

100% agreement. The US is loaded (for us) at forward, Pulisic is a bit of a waste up there when we are so thin in the middle. Morris could be special, but not if he stays in the MLS. That goal will make him the MLS posterboy, which is not a good thing. Klinsmann was a horrible cook, but he sure knows how to stock a pantry. Let's give him credit for that. Praying that: Aron Johansson is healthy, Julian Green finds himself. Those 2 = Zardes who?