The U.S. men’s national team’s latest World Cup exit showed that the program isn’t where it wants to be. More than that, though, it served as a reminder of the holes that exist in the U.S.’s talent pipeline.
Throughout the tournament, the U.S.’s backline was solid. That is, until Belgium tested their ability to turn, run at their own goal, and defend in transition. It did not go well. Tim Ream looked every bit his age and Chris Richards struggled to track runners and make good decisions. Sadly, the dropoff between those two and the next center back up remains substantial, which is why they played every game that mattered. Quality central defenders simply aren’t flowing into the senior team.
The same is true deeper down field: Matt Freese spent most of the tournament as a borderline spectator but even aside from his catastrophic error, few would claim he’s at the level of USMNT goalkeepers past.
Whether in positions that have been solid historically or in ones that have never been all that reliable, the United States simply isn’t producing certain kinds of men’s players – ones that could help them make bigger World Cup waves.
The USMNT's missing player profiles
What areas of the field are lacking for the U.S.? Well, there are gaps in areas that didn’t used to have them.
The easiest example is between the posts. Things aren’t truly dire there, but goalkeeper is no longer a position of strength. It used to be the best position in the USMNT squad and its only borderline-elite position group: at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup, multiple goalkeepers in the U.S. squad were Premier League starters. Perhaps the goalkeeping spot was always due for a regression, but the rest of the player pool hasn’t elevated enough to make up for the drop.
