Their culture is ambilivent towards football at best, even now during a peak, their best athletes don’t play football and they still use the collegiate system to nurture talent, which might be great for domestic sports but doesn’t help and actually might even hinder the ability to be competitive at the top level.
The best US football players at 20 years old don’t want to be playing for a university, not if they actually want to achieve anything.
I know they are starting to move away from that because they recognise the global nature of football means the same system used in gridiron doesn’t translate well to football but, its a slow process and won’t be eradicated completely as it goes all the way to grassroots. In most communities, kids aren’t playing football at 5 years old like they are in Europe.
I’m not saying the US WILL win in my lifetime, but of your infrastructure points are absolutely an outdated view of the top end of the USA player pipeline. There are top players coming out of well run MLS academies. I won’t me all of them, but Alphonso Davies, and I stress might be one of the best left backs in the world, and Vancouver isn’t even particularly well run.
Couple that with a USSF rule chance that any U12 games at any level, heading of the ball is a spot foul, which should help produce more players with technical skills at a younger level.
At no point am I saying your wrong the USA has a long way to go, but the points you have used aren’t exactly the reasons why
I’m aware he’s Canadian but Vancouver is an MLS club. Tyler Adams, gio Reyna, they Aaronson brothers, Weston McKennie, all have MLS academy roots. There’s tons more. I used AD as an example of the level of players coming from the US based system. And honestly, you probably knew that and came across as purposely obtuse to reiterate your false narrative. Again, we aren’t putting players out at a level like Brazil, Portugal, the Dutch etc, but to state we have no interest, or investment in soccer is demonstrably false
This would all be true if we were talking in 2010. On our current national team, I believe only two players played college ball, Tim Ream who is like 36 and from that era, and Matt Turner who was a super late bloomer. Hardly any serious professional players play college anymore. We have academies just like Europe, they’re just newer. Children also play here at 5 years old, if not younger. Soccer/football is one if the biggest sports here, especially amongst younger people, and even if it’s not #1 or “as popular as it is in Europe” there’s already more football fans in America than there is in Belgium for example.
We are a long way off winning a World Cup, but out of any non-European and Southamerican team, I’d say we are next to win it. Japan, Nigeria, Mexico, and maybe some middle east countries also could.
No one is the USMNT camp played collegiate soccer in the USA. Just saying.
Also, for a country that is fanatic when it comes to sports, they produce so many athletes that “the best” don’t have to play football for them to eventually put out a team capable of winning something big in the right circumstances.
But most of them weren’t even born or raised in the US. Which strengthens my point - American kids aren’t playing football like they play other sports.
It’s that you can’t be a pro and play college. The high school / college system in the Us hinders development massively. I even find it strange when here in the states people brag that they played college. Usually it’s guys that are incredible athletes with literally 0 ability. I went to a random corner in Brasil to play and out of the 25 people I saw play, 2 were by far better than anyone I’ve ever met in the USA that wasnt a professional player in South America. The level gap is that high. In Chile I saw a random 7v7 match. 4 or 5 of the 14 were better than anyone I’ve played with 7v7 in the US. The talent gap is insane
I think your points are fair, but I don’t see anyone else other than a European or South American team winning the world cup in the next 20-30 years.
Over those longer time frames, who knows what the culture will be in the US, especially after the world cup there in a few years. With Messi in the MLS and the premier league growing, it seems on an upwards trend. That is why I said I thought they still had the most potential to win it, if things ever do finally click for them.
They said the same thing after The World Cup in 1994, it’s been 30 years later and you get the same old results. Who knows, maybe you’re right? I’d like to see it, But I wouldn’t bet on it because I believe culture is the key and the US doesn’t have that. The NFL and NBA are king and they get the best athletes, heck even track and field too. It’s an uphill battle between Football (American) Basketball, Hockey, Baseball, Golf, Track and field, tennis, XGames etc. Other countries really don’t have to compete with that many other sports
I think that there are gonna be fewer and fewer young kids playing American football due to more and more data about CTE coming out. I’m hoping this will lead to more interest in soccer because we certainly have the athletes to compete. We just need to keep building a strong youth foundation. But I’m not naive enough to think that’s gonna happen anytime soon. I think it will happen eventually, but it may be another 50 years.
South America produces the most talent and Europe draws players from all over the world to their national teams. I really don’t see anyone getting close outside of USA and Mexico.
Already addressed it elsewhere, but no.
Their culture is ambilivent towards football at best, even now during a peak, their best athletes don’t play football and they still use the collegiate system to nurture talent, which might be great for domestic sports but doesn’t help and actually might even hinder the ability to be competitive at the top level.
The best US football players at 20 years old don’t want to be playing for a university, not if they actually want to achieve anything.
I know they are starting to move away from that because they recognise the global nature of football means the same system used in gridiron doesn’t translate well to football but, its a slow process and won’t be eradicated completely as it goes all the way to grassroots. In most communities, kids aren’t playing football at 5 years old like they are in Europe.
The best thing that can happen for US football is for NCAA to drop the sport for men
I’m not saying the US WILL win in my lifetime, but of your infrastructure points are absolutely an outdated view of the top end of the USA player pipeline. There are top players coming out of well run MLS academies. I won’t me all of them, but Alphonso Davies, and I stress might be one of the best left backs in the world, and Vancouver isn’t even particularly well run.
Couple that with a USSF rule chance that any U12 games at any level, heading of the ball is a spot foul, which should help produce more players with technical skills at a younger level.
At no point am I saying your wrong the USA has a long way to go, but the points you have used aren’t exactly the reasons why
Well, Alphonso Davies is Canadian, and also from a family of immigrants from a country who are mad about football.
An outlier, and he isn’t even part if tbe US team because he’s Canadian.
I’m aware he’s Canadian but Vancouver is an MLS club. Tyler Adams, gio Reyna, they Aaronson brothers, Weston McKennie, all have MLS academy roots. There’s tons more. I used AD as an example of the level of players coming from the US based system. And honestly, you probably knew that and came across as purposely obtuse to reiterate your false narrative. Again, we aren’t putting players out at a level like Brazil, Portugal, the Dutch etc, but to state we have no interest, or investment in soccer is demonstrably false
Yeah but the football system he grew up in, the sporting culture he grew up in, was Canadian, not American.
This would all be true if we were talking in 2010. On our current national team, I believe only two players played college ball, Tim Ream who is like 36 and from that era, and Matt Turner who was a super late bloomer. Hardly any serious professional players play college anymore. We have academies just like Europe, they’re just newer. Children also play here at 5 years old, if not younger. Soccer/football is one if the biggest sports here, especially amongst younger people, and even if it’s not #1 or “as popular as it is in Europe” there’s already more football fans in America than there is in Belgium for example.
We are a long way off winning a World Cup, but out of any non-European and Southamerican team, I’d say we are next to win it. Japan, Nigeria, Mexico, and maybe some middle east countries also could.
No one is the USMNT camp played collegiate soccer in the USA. Just saying.
Also, for a country that is fanatic when it comes to sports, they produce so many athletes that “the best” don’t have to play football for them to eventually put out a team capable of winning something big in the right circumstances.
That’s not true. 3 of the current squad did.
But most of them weren’t even born or raised in the US. Which strengthens my point - American kids aren’t playing football like they play other sports.
It’s that you can’t be a pro and play college. The high school / college system in the Us hinders development massively. I even find it strange when here in the states people brag that they played college. Usually it’s guys that are incredible athletes with literally 0 ability. I went to a random corner in Brasil to play and out of the 25 people I saw play, 2 were by far better than anyone I’ve ever met in the USA that wasnt a professional player in South America. The level gap is that high. In Chile I saw a random 7v7 match. 4 or 5 of the 14 were better than anyone I’ve played with 7v7 in the US. The talent gap is insane
I think soccer is the most played sport by kids at that age in America.
Yeah, but they don’t stick with it.
I think your points are fair, but I don’t see anyone else other than a European or South American team winning the world cup in the next 20-30 years.
Over those longer time frames, who knows what the culture will be in the US, especially after the world cup there in a few years. With Messi in the MLS and the premier league growing, it seems on an upwards trend. That is why I said I thought they still had the most potential to win it, if things ever do finally click for them.
They said the same thing after The World Cup in 1994, it’s been 30 years later and you get the same old results. Who knows, maybe you’re right? I’d like to see it, But I wouldn’t bet on it because I believe culture is the key and the US doesn’t have that. The NFL and NBA are king and they get the best athletes, heck even track and field too. It’s an uphill battle between Football (American) Basketball, Hockey, Baseball, Golf, Track and field, tennis, XGames etc. Other countries really don’t have to compete with that many other sports
I think that there are gonna be fewer and fewer young kids playing American football due to more and more data about CTE coming out. I’m hoping this will lead to more interest in soccer because we certainly have the athletes to compete. We just need to keep building a strong youth foundation. But I’m not naive enough to think that’s gonna happen anytime soon. I think it will happen eventually, but it may be another 50 years.
South America produces the most talent and Europe draws players from all over the world to their national teams. I really don’t see anyone getting close outside of USA and Mexico.