A little over two weeks ago, the unthinkable happened. The United States men’s soccer team somehow failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Now, instead of preparing for the sport’s biggest event, U.S. Soccer is pondering what to do after the biggest embarrassment in its existence. Coach Bruce Arena is gone, which was a formality. Federation President Sunil Gulati is officially in campaign mode with the February election coming up. There’s a possibility he could be out of a job, too.
But what about the players?
With the exception of one, every American player that entered the field Oct. 11 in the USMNT’s 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago couldn’t cut it. What does this debacle mean for their short and longterm futures? What about their legacies with the program? Some of them might never wear a national team jersey again. Others will lose a vital chance to take the next step in their development. Ultimately, missing out on a World Cup will be a unremovable blemish on all of their careers.
Let’s take a look at some of the players that had a significant role in this qualifying cycle. Some names are missing, most notably Alejandro Bedoya. Though he appeared in seven qualifying games this cycle, the Philadelphia Union midfielder was a long shot to make the final 2018 World Cup roster and is unlikely to have much of a future with the program beyond the next 12 months. Harsh, I know, but his time in the international spotlight was during the 2014 World Cup, anyway.
Alas, here’s what this failure means for some of the USMNT’s most important players:
Tim Howard, GK: Tim Howard gave the United States one final World Cup cycle, and I’m sure even he didn’t think he would have such a significant role on the team. Says a lot about the Americans’ goalkeeping situation when a 37-year-old who’s a half-decade past his best days is still the team’s top option. Howard’s national team career is surely over, at least when it comes to competitive games, and our final World Cup memory of the ex-Manchester United and Everton keeper will be his amazing 16-save performance against Belgium in 2014’s round of 16. Considering how average he looked throughout this qualifying cycle, perhaps that is for the better. Age at 2022 World Cup: 43
Brad Guzan, GK: After the 2014 World Cup, Brad Guzan was supposed to carry the torch as the United States’ next No. 1 goalkeeper, a position this country has championed with pride for decades. But after Costa Rica’s 4-0 humiliation of the USMNT last November, his No. 1 spot came into question again. Guzan started in only three games in the Hex and had to watch as the Americans choked away their World Cup berth. It was probably his last chance to finally take the field in a World Cup game, as well. For one of the best American keepers to play in Europe, that can only be considered as an insatiable void in his career. Age at 2022 World Cup: 38
Omar Gonzalez, CB: There used to be a time when Omar Gonzalez was the United States’ No. 1 security blanket. A juggernaut in aerial duels, Gonzalez’s strengths fit perfectly with the team’s modus operandi: A solid defensive structure and potent on set pieces. It’s those skills which helped him carve out important roles with the national team. His indomitable presence has led him to three MLS Cups with the LA Galaxy, a Liga MX Clausura championship and a CONCACAF Champions League title. Unfortunately for the former Maryland Terrapin, his shocking own goal, which began the United States’ plummet out of the World Cup, will forever be his legacy. Ultimately, it’s a legacy he has earned. For the past several years, Gonzalez has slowly descended into a defensive liability. He’s perennially late to react to danger and attackers have no problem blowing by him with pace. He has lost more than a couple of steps, and he’s only 29. Conceivably, Gonzalez can be in the picture for the 2019 Gold Cup, and he might even have another World Cup cycle in him. But after his terrible performance against the Soca Warriors, it’s also possible we will never see him in a national team jersey during a competitive game again — sort of like Ricardo Clark after his brief, horrid display against Ghana in the 2010 World Cup round of 16. At this point, the latter is more likely. Age at 2022 World Cup: 34
Matt Besler, CB: The hype around Matt Besler reached it’s peak at the 2014 World Cup and, at the time, he was looking like the United States’ next stalwart center back. But after a confluence of events — including his contract extension with Sporting KC when a $1.2 million per year deal from Sunderland was on the table, the emergence of John Brooks and Jurgen Klinsmann’s decision to deploy Besler at left back (his native position) in the Copa America Centenario — his role in the national team pool dwindled. With Arena’s return and Brooks’ injury, Besler was back in the XI, rekindling his partnership with Gonzalez we saw in Brazil three and a half years ago. It never looked right, though. Considering that no one in the past four years — beyond Brooks — has shown signs of snagging a permanent spot in the team’s aging center back unit, I can see Besler playing a competitive game at the international level again. Though he will never regain the buzz he garnered in 2014. Age at 2022 World Cup: 35
Geoff Cameron, CB: It took a while for this team to figure out which role suits Geoff Cameron best. As such, the Stoke City defender was a late bloomer for the Americans. But by the 2016 Copa America, it was clear Cameron and Brooks were the best center-back pair the Americans had. It’s too bad the partnership was so brief. Brooks injury issues through the qualifying cycle and Arena’s odd insistence on playing Gonzalez and Besler ahead of Cameron will likely spell the end of his competitive international career. It’s a shame too, because he had more to offer. Age at 2022 World Cup: 37
John Brooks, CB: There’s more to John Brooks than being the guy who scored that really important goal against Ghana in 2014. He showed it in the 2016 Copa America alongside Cameron, and he consistently showed it in his five years with Hertha Berlin. His aerial prowess rivals that of Omar Gonzalez at his best, he possesses fine defensive instincts and is more comfortable on the ball than any other USMNT defender besides Cameron. It’s the reason why the Brooks became the most expensive American player ever in May when Wolfsburg bought the defender for 20 million euros. Brooks wasn’t without his blemishes in this World Cup cycle, though. He probably had the worst game of his career in the 4-0 defeat to Costa Rica in the Hex, and though he redeemed himself in home victories against Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago, a thigh injury kept him away from the squad for the team’s final four games. The USMNT needed Brooks during that period, and it will need Brooks in the future, too. Hopefully, the German-American will get the chance to add to his brief, yet glorious, World Cup career. Age at 2022 World Cup: 29
DeAndre Yedlin, RB: DeAndre Yedlin was the only defender who had a good game in the Americans’ 4-0 trashing of Panama. He recognized danger when Besler, Gonzalez and Jorge Villafana were slow to react. But the Newcastle United man couldn’t carry that energy to Couva, Trinidad, where he looked just as stuck in the mud as his compatriots. For the most part, Yedlin’s spot as starting right back is safe. He is still playing very well at Newcastle and Timmy Chandler, his only competitor for the spot, hasn’t received much love since pulling out of the June qualifying squad with a hamstring injury. What Yedlin misses out on in the United States’ exclusion from the World Cup is a chance to truly evaluate his progress at the international level. Since his debut with the U.S. squad in 2014, he has simply been valued as a bundle of athleticism. Make no mistake, Yedlin’s speed is vital to this rather slow and aging back line. It’s a big part of what kept Panama from making the matchup in Orlando interesting. But since joining Newcastle, his defensive instincts have vastly improved. In the past, there was a faction of the USMNT fanbase that thought Yedlin’s pace and stamina made him best suited in a wide midfield role. Now, playing Yedlin anywhere but defense just seems foolish. He’s part of the team’s future defensively, so let’s hope he can help lead it to better results than this. Age at 2022 World Cup: 29.
Jorge Villafana, LB: Mostly getting his spot as a necessity, Jorge Villafana enters this World Cup-less period in an interesting position. The Santos Laguna left back was seen as someone who can serve in that role well enough so Fabian Johnson can play in a more advanced spot. With the USMNT committed to playing Johnson in the midfield, Villafana truly has no competition at left back — why do you think DaMarcus Beasley kept getting a spot on the squad? Best case scenario, someone will emerge to give Villafana a run for his money in future competitive teams, but it might be a while before that happens. Real Salt Lake Homegrown talent Danilo Acosta is a realistic option at left back entering the next decade, but he can also choose to play for Honduras, a team that can actually still make the World Cup this time around. We will probably see more of Villafana in the future, though that probably isn’t what fans want to hear. Age at 2022 World Cup: 33
Graham Zusi, RM/RB: Graham Zusi’s career arc with the USMNT is similar to Besler’s. The Sporting KC playmaker reached the height of his value at the 2014 World Cup. But, like Besler, after his contract extension with Sporting KC, his role with the national team dwindled. The extension and his international spot probably aren’t correlated; Darlington Nagbe gaining U.S. citizenship, however, does go hand-in-hand with Zusi’s decline. Nagbe burst onto the international scene and quickly became one of the team’s first-choice side midfielders, relegating Zusi to emergency right-back during Yedlin’s injury troubles. Zusi, known for his deft crossing ability on the wing and during set pieces, is another player part of a bygone era of U.S. soccer that prided itself on terrorizing teams on crosses and free kicks. Zusi chances of playing in the 2022 World Cup is extremely unlikely, but his immediate future with the team depends on what direction it wants to go tactically. If the Americans continue trending toward quick link play in the attacking third and methodical buildup from the defensive into the midfield, the former starter will continue to fall in the selection pool. Age at 2022 World Cup: 36
Paul Arriola, RM: One of the players from the 2015 U-20 World Cup squad that made the jump to the senior team, Paul Arriola is supposed to provide competition for Nagbe and Johnson and eventually weave into a starting spot somewhere on the wing. Though he has shown flashes of brilliance, especially against Panama when he should’ve had an assist and a goal, the newly-minted D.C. United attacker hasn’t proved beyond reasonable doubt that he deserves a spot in the XI for future competitive international games. Though he has the speed, work rate and attacking mentality to be a starter, he lacks the polish in the final third. Like many of the Americans in their early-20s this World Cup cycle, Arriola misses a chance to experience the World Cup at a developmental stage in his career. A good showing in Russia could’ve also taken his club career to the next level. But Arriola isn’t the only player who will be wondering what could’ve been. Age at 2022 World Cup: 27
Darlington Nagbe, LM/RM: From my perspective, it feels like there always has been something that has kept Darlington Nagbe from taking his career to new heights. His long wait for U.S. citizenship and failed move to Scottish club Celtic have a lot to do with his apparent stagnation, but it would be unfair to say his career has flatlined the same way Michael Bradley’s has (more on that later). Since his USMNT debut in 2015, the Portland Timbers star had looked like the midfielder Jurgen Klinsmann had yearned for during his tenure. A danger on the ball, Nagbe was at his best when he was beating defenders, drawing fouls and combining with Christian Pulisic in the attacking third. The Liberian-born midfielder struggled with consistency, however, and was particularly ineffective during the final stretch of the Hex. Still, missing the 2018 World Cup will significantly damage Nagbe’s club and international career. It’s the only cycle he will experience in his prime and he loses another opportunity to make the career breakthrough that has eluded him for years. Age at 2022 World Cup: 32
Fabian Johnson, LM: Fabian Johnson was supposed to be one of the players who would help usher the USMNT from regional to world power and serve as a vital piece of a new team identity, one that was known for its technical play as much as it’s heralded for the heart and grit that has been synonymous with soccer in this country. To a degree, he has done a satisfactory job in that role. Unfortunately, Johnson’s time has pretty much run out. The Americans were forced to use the Borussia Monchengladbach standout at left back during the 2014 World Cup, and once the team started using him in his more natural left-midfield position, superfluous questions about his commitment and various injuries hindered his playing time. His exclusion from the USMNT’s final qualifying squad wasn’t a surprise, but selecting someone like Benny Feilhaber instead was still a bad decision. There will always be a section of fans that will use Johnson (and guys like Timmy Chandler and Danny Williams, for that matter) as proof that Jurgen Klinsmann’s German-American “experiment” didn’t pan out. I believe such an assertion is unfair, and its even more unfair Johnson effectively no longer has a chance to prove that argument wrong. Age at 2022 World Cup: 34
Michael Bradley, CDM: I want you to picture a midfield talent from this country that would join the Dutch Eredivisie at 18 years old. I want to to imagine that young talent, only one year later, breaking Brian McBride’s single-season goalscoring record in a European first division with 18 in all competitions. Now envision that young talent joining Borussia Monchengladbach soon after turning 21 and making 81 appearances over three seasons. Next, imagine that player becoming one of the USMNT’s best players in the 2010 World Cup — playing every minute of every game. I want you to picture that same center midfielder, a couple years later, joining Serie A power Roma and becoming a vital part of its starting rotation. OK, enough with the daydreaming. How talented do you think such a player would be by the time the 2014 World Cup rolls around? One of the best midfielders in the tournament? How much of a positive impact would said player have by the time he’s an international captain in the tail end of his “prime” years? Apparently, if that player’s name is Michael Bradley, the answers to those prior two questions would be “not as good as expected” and “what impact?” This is the career arc of the captain of the USMNT and Toronto FC. After great individual success early on, Bradley’s form plateaued by 2014. Around that same time, the USMNT decided to make the midfielder its centerpiece. Though its unfair to pin all of the team’s struggles on Bradley, it’s clear that its decline is synonymous with Bradley’s gradual dip in quality. Beyond the Americans’ defensive woes, lack of a consistent goalscorer and aging goalkeeping unit, if Micheal Bradley continued improving through his mid-20s, as expected, some of those issues would’ve gone unnoticed. But as Bradley has gone, so has the team. For the immediate future, Bradley will be the captain until he decides to give it up. But regardless of what he does for the rest of his international career, even if he plays in the 2022 World Cup (a real possibility), Bradley will be better known as the leader of a team that missed the World Cup for the first time in over 30 years. What if he his rise continued past 2014? What if he was the leader the USMNT expected him to be? In the end, neither of those things happened, and that’s the true shame of Bradley’s career. Age at 2022 World Cup: 35
Christian Pulisic, CAM: Christian Pulisic didn’t deserve this. As the sole goalscorer for the USMNT in its capitulation against Trinidad and Tobago, it was damning to see the 19-year-old looking like the only American player who wasn’t frozen in the face of immense pressure. Simply put, the experienced players — the players who have “been there, done that,” when it comes to the CONCACAF qualifying cycle — let him down. Pulisic will play in multiple World Cups before he decides to hang up his cleats, but that isn’t the point. This will be a scar on the Borussia Dortmund winger’s career. Pulisic is the best men’s soccer player this country has ever produced, but he likely won’t have as many World Cup appearances as DaMarcus Beasley (whose presence on the USMNT squad tells you all you need to know about the state of this player pool). He will be missing from the World Cup hype train that comes around once every four years. Yes, Pulisic is a prominent player on an elite European team, but on a macro scale, this country still is pretty oblivious to the various happenings in the club soccer scene; if it isn’t international soccer, you won’t get as many eyes. John Brooks charmed the nation with his game-winning goal against Ghana in the 2014 World Cup group stages. Tim Howard only became an American Hero after his Herculean effort against Belgium in the round of 16. If fair-weather soccer fans got to experience Pulisic terrorize world-renowned defenders this coming summer in Russia, the hysteria would’ve been the same. Additionally, the prodigious youngster surely would’ve been the American figurehead in Nike’s World Cup advertising rollout — make no mistake, this debacle has financial repercussions, as well. Again, Christian Pulisic didn’t deserve this. The team probably doesn’t even have a chance at an automatic bid at Trinidad and Tobago if not for his brace against the Soca Warriors at Colorado in June. Missing out on the World Cup isn’t like getting knocked out in the Champions League or failing to clinch a Bundesliga title. Pulisic will be in a different stage in his career before he gets another chance to showcase himself at a World Cup, a tournament which attracts an American audience bigger than any Champions League or DFB Pokal final. He will undoubtedly be a better player by then. For his sake, let’s hope his teammates will be better, as well. Age at 2022 World Cup: 24
#USMNT #1N1T pic.twitter.com/QAbOcCtHRW
— Jozy Altidore (@JozyAltidore) October 12, 2017
Jozy Altidore, ST: It’s hard to believe the third-highest goalscorer in USMNT history has yet to score a goal in the main tournament of the World Cup. And he might never get another chance to get off the mark. As far as roller coaster metaphors go, Jozy Altidore’s international career has been Kingda Ka. From his drought in 2012 when he failed to score to his amazing run leading up to the 2014 World Cup when he bagged 10 goals in 14 games, Altidore is as mercurial as they come. World Cup success has been hard to come by, though. An early hamstring injury in Brazil 2014 was particularly crushing, taking into account the year he was having entering the tournament. Judging from his performance in the Hex this year, however, I couldn’t envision his World Cup fortunes changing if the USMNT found a way to qualify. With the exception of his 2-goal showing in the penultimate game against Panama, Altidore looked like the player who earned No. 1 in the Daily Mail’s “100 Worst Strikers in Premier League History.” As Altidore told reporters after the defeat at Trinidad and Tobago, the Toronto FC striker will be doing a lot of self-reflection through the coming weeks and months. Here’s one question that should creep into his mind: “Can I still cut it at this level?” At 27 years old, Altidore has a legitimate shot at becoming this program’s top goalscorer. At the same time, the chance of him becoming an afterthought is equally as likely. Such has been the nature of Altidore’s international career. Age at 2022 World Cup: 33
“If you don’t look at yourself after this, individually, I think you’re pretty f****d up in the head.”
Bobby Wood, ST: Bobby Wood is one of several players currently in the player pool that will play a vital role by the time the next World Cup cycle comes around. He offers a lot of what Jozy Altidore can provide at his best, bugging defenders with his athleticism. Though he isn’t as big and strong as Altidore, he has a higher work rate and is better on the ball. Of course, this wasn’t apparent against Trinidad and Tobago as the Hamburg striker was as sluggish as every other American that night, excluding Pulisic. The major question surrounding Wood has to do with whether he can adopt the expectations Altidore has had on his shoulders and actually deliver. Without a World Cup to showcase his potential, Wood misses a chance to establish himself as the team’s striker of the future. Given the team’s dearth of options in the position, however, Wood probably assumes that role by default. Age at 2022 World Cup: 30
Clint Dempsey, ST: Will Clint Dempsey ever break Landon Donovan’s goalscoring record? This is probably the only loose end of Dempsey’s international career. Accepting a role as a “super sub” helped prolong his stay in the USMNT rotation. After all, the Seattle Sounders striker came on as a sub in the 2017 Gold Cup semifinals to score the goal that tied him with Donovan on the all-time list. There’s a reason Dempsey has had to accept a spot on the bench. Though he remains the team’s best finisher — which is a problem in and of itself — his movement is nowhere near the level to that of a starter on a national team. This has arguably been the case since the 2014 World Cup. But Dempsey is a goalscorer, and that will be his legacy in a United States jersey. As Fulham’s all-time top Premier League scorer, he is also the best player this country has ever sent to Europe, a title Pulisic is poised to snatch in a couple of years. Of all the players whose international career will likely be over by the next World Cup cycle, Dempsey’s legacy is the most secure. Additionally, it’s extremely hard to believe he won’t get at least one or two more chances to take sole possession of the program’s goalscoring record. After that, I’m sure Dempsey will be riding off into the sunset with a fishing rod in hand. Age at 2022 World Cup: 39