Disappointing End For U.S. Men’s Footy

This past Saturday the United States Men’s soccer team was eliminated from the 2022 Qatar World Cup in the round of 16. The squad was beaten three to one by the Netherlands in a hard fought game. The Dutch were led by striker Memphis Depay and Midfielder Denzel Dumfries who both scored a goal for their club. The one and only U.S goal was scored by striker Haji Wright in the 70th minute but was not enough to overcome the 2-1 deficit. 

It is not all grim for the U.S though as they unexpectedly made it out of the group stage by beating a scrappy Iran team and drew against a world class England club. Star player Cristian Pulisic led the way by assisting a goal in the first match and scoring the one and only goal in the USA’s win over Iran. With the loss on Saturday Pulisic stated “I hope we showed people what we can do… it really is a shame. We deserved more at this tournament.” Hopefully this attitude can propel the U.S into the elite group of teams around the world.

Some more United States players with promising futures are Gio Reyna and Tyler Adams. Reyna at just 20 years old is already playing meaningful minutes at world class club Borussia Dortmund in Germany. Many fans were upset at the decision of benching Reyna in the Iran and England game as the star forward might have lit a spark the team desperately needed. Tyler Adams out of Leeds United has already established his role on the national team and was already named captain of the team at just 23 years old. Since Adams primarily plays defense for the club he doesn’t seem to get the same recognition as players like Pulisic, but coach Gregg Berhalter had this to say after USA’s win over Iran. “Tyler is an outstanding player and led this team today. We definitely couldn’t have done it without him.” That’s high praise from his coach and at his young age is very rare for a national team player. Reyna and Adams are two stars who will need to lead the team going forward and take on huge roles in the next world cup.

With their elimination, the team can only look forward to 2026 where the U.S hosts the World Cup. This is a golden opportunity for the team as they are already qualified for the tournament and get to play on their home soil. The team has high expectations as they were the youngest team at the Qatar tournament and in another four years they should develop into a powerhouse around the world.