Another US Soccer Failure Adds Mounting Pressure On World Cup Ambitions

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The feeling of failure has become synonymous with US Soccer fans who expect their national team to compete and excel at the biggest soccer events in the world.

A Loss That Should Never Have Been

The US under-23 team, led by manager Jason Kreis, lost to Honduras in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament, eliminating any hope of the USA competing at the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games. The loss marks the third consecutive Olympic Games in which the USA will not be present.

Furthermore, both goalscorers for Honduras had only ever played at the USL level in North America. Juan Carlos Obregón Jr. opened the scoring for Honduras, he is currently playing for Rio Grande Valley FC where he has scored 4 goals in 17 appearances. Whereas Luis Palma, who scored the 47th-minute game-winner after a mistake made by RSL’s David Ochoa, went on loan to the Real Monarchs in 2019 and only managed 1 goal in 13 appearances. He now plays for Honduran club C.D.S. Vida.

Stop making last night’s u23 failure by the USA about a lack of talent.

The game winning goal for Honduras was scored by a 23-year-old born and raised in the USA who is an average USL player. The other goal was by a player rejected by RSL’s USL team!

It’s not a talent issue.

— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) March 29, 2021

The Honduran national team does not have more talent than the US. In fact, the level of talent on the USA team far outweighs the talent on the Honduran team. Earlier this year, Sebastian Soto was playing for the US Men’s first team and looked like a marvel in comparison to his form at the Olympic Qualifying tournament.

The USA team, which was filled with players who perform at the MLS level and higher, played like a team that did not have any direction. It was not until the final 10 minutes of the game against Honduras when the USA started to panic and realize their hopes of qualifying for the Olympic Games were in jeopardy.

The recent loss adds to the growing frustration felt by USA soccer fans who are constantly let down by their national team. The loss only adds pressure to the USA as they hope to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Added pressure that the federation and the players do not need following their failed World Cup bid in 2017 after a 2-1 loss to Trinidad & Tobago.

Expectation vs. Reality

Are the expectations too high for the USA as it attempts to compete against the world’s best? The USA has never been known as a soccer powerhouse, nor has it ever been known as a country that contends for world glory in the sport of soccer. So why are the expectations so great?

Granted, the United States has evolved into a country that values the world game. Over its recent years, it has produced players that now compete alongside the world’s best in the most challenging and highly regarded leagues in the world. Christian Pulisic at Chelsea and Sergiño Dest at Barcelona are just two of the most popular names in the soccer world currently.

Unacceptable @ussoccer

A failure to the Nth degree because you had the "warning sign" from October of 2017….and yet here we are.

A proper "footballing nation" doesn't fail to qualify for an Olympics 3 time running.

— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) March 29, 2021

Without question, the United States is in the best position it has ever been as it relates to the game of soccer.

But winning and knowing how to win is still a relatively new concept to American soccer fans and its players. Their beloved country has never won in the game of soccer. Rather, the beloved USA has never come close to winning.

So, with all this hype and expectation placed on the shoulders of the current generation who supposedly have a chance to catapult the United States into soccer dominance, maybe we ought to give the federation more time.

Maybe, just maybe, the expectation to win is unrealistic. Because after all, winning is a learned trait, and the USA has never won (yet) when it comes to soccer.