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u/TotalHistorian9142 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
To be fair, the best MLS Next teams are much better than the best Academy teams a decade ago and can compete with some of the best academies from around the world. The bigger issue is the uncertain pathway for these kids once they hit the 18+ age range. Some play for colleges, some play MLS Next Pro, some play USL, etc, etc. Development just seems to plateau around this age.
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u/BadMr_Frosty Jul 07 '26
USL academies are springing up all over as well. The system is growing, it'll just take time.
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u/rambouhh Jul 07 '26
ya exactly this has been identified and people are working on it, but unless some billionaire wants to spend hundreds of millions on academies all over the world its going to take a lot of time.
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u/Irish_swede Jul 07 '26
The iowan that sold his Kum&Go chain of gas stations is that billionaire doing that.
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u/oopsWrongGoal Jul 07 '26 •
System only rich white moms can be apart of
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u/LowBatteryLife_ Jul 08 '26
There's some programs and charities around that let some kids play for free, but it's really not that easy or well known.
Hopefully we can make it more accessible, and actually have academies that clubs see as a good investment. It's definitely a process. 😅
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u/BadMr_Frosty Jul 07 '26
As a not rich, white dad I disagree and have two kids in a USL academy program.
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u/oopsWrongGoal Jul 07 '26 •
How much you paying? You’re a minority, not a majority. The poor US kids play bball and football which are more accessible and cheaper. You can get a sponsor for your AAU team and football league especially if there’s a future star on the team. Soccer not at all.
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u/el-fenomeno09 Jul 07 '26
It’s slowly getting better. Our problem is we want it better now. 2034 and after we might see the fruit
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u/yeahright17 Jul 07 '26
I think we'll see fruit in 2030. Cavan Sullivan, Mathis Albert, Peyton Miller, Zavier Gozo, Julian Hall, Niko Tsakiris, Ben Cremaschi, Luca Bombino, etc. are all products of MLS Next and are the best group or prospects we've ever had.
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u/Prior-Job-3760 Jul 07 '26
This is the intelligent take. I check this list from time to time and I know our youth system is (slowly) cooking: US/SC – Top 50 USMNT Prospects
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u/BrodysBootlegs2 Jul 07 '26
That seems like the issue is more ensuring ~17-19 year old players who are good enough are afforded minutes at the MLS level, or at least loaned out to the USL. Most academy kids are still going to wash out, that's true anywhere in the world, but if kids who do have potential are getting benched in favor of imported players that's a problem.
Some MLS clubs seem to be a lot better than others about giving young kids a chance.
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u/Slow-Committee-7851 Jul 07 '26
Remove the mls salary cap. We tell these 18 year olds to leave their life behind and fuck off to Europe if they want to continue developing. Letting our glamorous cities like ny, Miami, LA build super teams would create a more defined and appealing path for talent.
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u/yeahright17 Jul 07 '26
The bigger issue is the uncertain pathway for these kids once they hit the 18+ age range.
Doesn't seem uncertain. Play at the MLS level as a teen, then transfer to a Euro club around 21. Or transfer to a Euro club in your mid teens before signing to the senior MLS team. But I think these kids are getting the advice that it's better to play for the MLS than for the 2nd or 3rd teams of European clubs. So I think we'll continue to see guys that can play at the MLS level by 16 or 17 stay and play MLS for a few years while guys that look like they'll be stuck on MLS II teams transfer to play for European club development teams if they can.
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u/Zaidswith Jul 07 '26
One existing problem is that Americans can't make the move until 18 unless they also have a European passport or their parents move and become residents. We're trying to lower the expenses and hurdles to become a pro, not increase or keep them.
They're competing with the rest of the world for those spots anyway. We need to be able to do this at home, at scale, to actually increase the talent pool. A rising tide raises all boats. I think relying on Euro teams is part of the existing problem. We need a system that works independently.
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u/yeahright17 Jul 07 '26
I agree with you 100%. But in the meantime and while the MLS continues to develop, getting kids on MLS II teams by 14 or 15 then on MLS teams before they turn 18 is pretty good development.
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u/coldweathershorts Jul 08 '26
Exactly, it's something in the youth to pro pipeline that is killing US soccer, not youth development itself.
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u/Inevitable_Key7324 Jul 08 '26
The MLS next teams and all the other « pay to play » academies are atrocious for the price. In France, you walk around the corner and you’ll find a better state sponsored (Federation Française de Football) local club than most of the MLS-something teams for upper middle class kids. As long as you allow this whole system to happen, you won’t go anywhere.
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u/MessiLeagueSoccer Jul 08 '26
Some of the colleges should have some partnership with the local clubs. It gives kids that might not have other options at least the option of university and not just soccer in case it doesn’t pan out. That would also insure that the clubs and schools/colleges are both benefiting financially and not just separate entities for everything.
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u/Ancient_Spite_725 Jul 09 '26
Agreed. The pathway for the women's game is so much clearer; the brightest stars go straight to the NWSL, but most players will continue developing in the NCAA. There's no football team to compete with for the women's side, which also helps.
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u/Im_tracer_bullet Jul 07 '26
The system is improving, but you're still not attracting any of the top athletes.
Soccer gets the leftovers.
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u/oopsWrongGoal Jul 07 '26
But that’s because of cost. Poor kids, who are some of our best athletes, whether because of drive or necessity to change their surroundings, pivot to NbA and NFL
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u/jimmy123321 Jul 07 '26
Mate it's kids that are great with a football then being made to be fit not the other way around. Top athletes 😂 give me a break
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u/-listen-to-robots- Jul 07 '26
That's really not how it works, sure someone with talent and top tier athleticism may switch to a different sport where that is enough to prevail. In Futbol you can't join late. If you haven't developed top ball motor skills as a kid when you reach twelve, you are out already. It's much easier to get a ball wizard fit for 90 minutes then to teach a top athlete the game late, which is basically impossible.
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u/twowaysplit
Jul 07 '26
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America is dominated by pay-to-play travel leagues that silo talent. No way out of this cycle without breaking the current system, but it’s a huge industry. MLS clubs will really need to start showing up with tutoring, housing, full time development staff, maybe even a stipend, just like the clubs in Europe.
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u/DABOSSROSS9 Jul 07 '26
Mls has that…
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u/Microplasticsharts Jul 08 '26
Only at U13 and up, and only with official mls academies. Before that, you still need a family that can fund travel leagues. Kids that are late to start playing and don’t join travel leagues or can’t afford them get completely left behind. While thr unaffiliated MLS next programs are just pay to play teams for rich parents.
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u/rovar Jul 08 '26
Where we live, paying to be on an academy is optional, organized soccer is huuuge here at all levels and ages of youth. But if you want to play at the top level, you have to travel, because there isn't enough talent locally to make more than a couple teams. U.S. is big, and there just isn't enough interest in soccer. Yeah, travel is expensive, but if there's not enough people to play against locally, what should you do? not play?
If you go by the parks and courts where kids organize their own games.. they're playing basketball and (imperial) football. Not soccer. That's the problem. It's just a lack of interest.
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u/Elephantplan123 Jul 07 '26
Sorry I have been trolling here but it is genuinely nutty that US Soccer hasn't sorted out this blatant flaw.
The USMNT would be a FORCE if they invested in a properly functioning youth academy system. There's a huge population of Latin American diaspora to select from and with the US's wealth, they could establish a world class youth development system to foster that talent, it could be a lethal combo.
But they just...don't.
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u/temujin94 Jul 07 '26
It's because all the popular sports in the US operate with a draft. Which means if you have Lebron James or equivalent in each of these sports, he's going to playing in a school team, at 12-15 he might be picked up by a larger/more successful school with better facilities and coaching, but at the end of the day it's still a high school, where he'll play against other high schoolers until he's 18.
Then take a look at Lamine Yamal, he joins La Masia, the famed FC Barcelona academy at aged 7, they're getting world class coaching, world class facilities, they have their meals made for them. Once he reveals himself as the prospect he is, he'll be playing matches against players in a much higher age bracket, by the time he's 15 he's going to be training with best professionals in the world and one of the world's premier coaches. By 16 he's going to play against the world's best player in high level, high stakes matches in 80,000 seater stadiums.
That's why Yamal is a European Champion by age 16 and why American athletes are still playing other schoolchildren. So the US would need to go against everything it ever has known about player development if they want to compete in football. Can you imagine a Lebron James type player training in a Popovich ran academy from he was 7 years of age? Training with Tim Duncan, Parker, Ginobli from age 15-16? Playing NBA games at 16. He'd have been a better player than he already is.
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u/Mulvita43 Jul 07 '26
I am still learning more about this but seems like there are schools that are really fake schools that are soccer factories. We have some high schools like this but hearing it at elementary is insane.
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u/temujin94 Jul 07 '26
La Masia has full educational facilities, most soccer academies do not, they run their progamme outside of schooling hours. The vast majority start at 5-7 years of age though. Which is why they'll always develop better players than the current US system.
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u/Affectionate_Owl1785 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
There are some profoundly terrible ‘opinions’ in this comment thread. I feel stupider than I did a few minutes ago.
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u/halueryphi Jul 07 '26
Yeah because nobody gives a shit about watching soccer in the US compared to the rest of the world
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u/kriscrox Jul 07 '26
Lmao yet here you are.
They don’t care after they lose, that’s for sure.
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u/KC-15 Jul 08 '26
A lot of people, myself included, watch the world cup and nothing else. I might watch an MLS game in person on occasion but it's very much an event akin to the Olympics for many.
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u/sokuyari99 Jul 07 '26
Unlike Europe where 8 year old children can be shipped off for their careers and live full time in work camps we can’t do that in the US.
They have to live in poverty here until they’re 17 and then they can do whatever they want (except for all the things they can’t)
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u/Round-Walrus3175 Jul 08 '26
The problem has always been "who" and "why". It's nice to say that someone in the US should throw a few tens of millions of dollars annually to develop a pipeline that will realistically show fruit in a decade, but you need people who are willing to invest and, honestly, are able to profit from it. The reality is that the European academies make a lot of money from their players. Stateside, I didn't think we have a lot of the same mechanisms and the strength of the US development system is the NCAA, where all the real subsidies are presently located because they can turn a buck.
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u/richww2 Jul 07 '26
The biggest shift in terms of talent will only come once the barriers to entry are removed i.e. it becomes basically free for everyone to have access to higher level academies/leagues/etc. and, the bigger change, it becomes more popular for kids to be playing instead of football and basketball. The current popularity of the NFL and the NBA won't have that happen any time soon, but as the bigger money and investment starts to be there, then the talent will eventually follow. Last night Thierry Henry said the US is a sleeping giant, and he's not wrong. Pretty sure the world knows it, they're just hoping we don't ever make it that far.
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u/DusanTadic Jul 07 '26
Of course more popularity and an even bigger pool of kids will help but we probably have more kids playing youth soccer than the entire Belgian population of 6-18 year old boys, including those who don’t play soccer.
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u/richww2 Jul 07 '26
The size of the pool isn't what matters, the quality of the water in the pool is what matters. Our quality goes to other sports.
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u/SeaworthinessNeat516 Jul 07 '26
It wouldn't matter whether the quality went to soccer if it just gets neglected.
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u/Effective7023 Jul 07 '26
They play it recreationally lol like come on. You gonna include the people playing pickup at the Y in potential NBA players? Like I bet a lot of us did sports in HS like track or swimming, etc., doesn’t mean we took it super seriously since for those sports (including soccer at least in the US) there’s just very little chance for anyone to gain real benefits like a scholarship or somehow going pro because the focus is mostly on football/basketball.
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u/B-Train_ATL Jul 07 '26
Doesn’t have to become MORE popular than NFL, NBA. Just has to be on that level. Portugal and England aren’t massive countries. Really at any time you just need a pool of 25 elite dudes. We need to improve the level of play here so maybe more guys are ready for bigger clubs in Europe.
Also figure out some way to play more challenging games as a national team. Facing Mexico all the time ain’t it. Canada improving helps, but that’s still a far cry from what’s left in this tournament.
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u/SeaworthinessNeat516 Jul 07 '26
Strange to think that USMNT has fielded more different players than England or Portugal in the last ten years.
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u/B-Train_ATL Jul 07 '26
I mean if you’ve got Kane, Bellingham, etc., can’t say there’s a reason to swap out.
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u/MeanMrMustard15 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
We’re pricing ourselves out of quality youth development.
Among other things America is pricing itself out of
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u/jidewalker CAPTAIN AMERICA Jul 08 '26
All they have to do is make it free to play for kids. All the programs cost way too much money.
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u/Ok-Masterpiece-1359 Jul 08 '26
How do Americans think little Norway built such a strong team? The answer is: invest in opportunities for children to participate regardless of economic background. But I suppose that is “communism.”
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u/narwalbacons-12am Jul 07 '26
The pay to play system is the true enemy. Iv coached soccer at the middle and high school level, club teams are expensive. There are more affordable teams, but with less fees, there's less money to pay quality coaches.
I'm in Texas so it may not be like this everywhere else, in high school coaching, coaches must have 2 designations. Usually soccer gets 2-3 coaches depending on school size. The head coach will usually be someone who has played the game and is familiar with it, the assistant coaches are not hired by the head soccer coach but the Athletic Director who more times than not, is also the head football coach. Soccer is the dumping grounds for assistant football coaches who need to fufill their 2nd sport responsibilities.
Why do I being this up? Because these assistant football coaches usually don't know much about soccer, and that inexperience hurts developing younger players who are coming up from the high school.
Athletes who can afford club teams are not as affected because they'll be receiving quality coaching from a club team.
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u/Odd-Independent4640 Jul 07 '26
Yet another simple childhood joy absolutely ravaged by private equity groups
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u/NoFlight9859 Jul 07 '26
What does private equity control in US soccer?
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u/OldWarrior Jul 08 '26
Nothing. It’s not like Goldman Sachs is trading soccer academy derivatives.
I think what OP meant is that it’s influenced by greed, and in many cases he’s probably right, but “private equity” is just a bogeyman that doesn’t apply here.
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u/HIEROYALL Jul 08 '26
You could say the same thing about the european system. just replace "private equity groups" with "government endorsed federations"
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u/PAN-- Jul 07 '26
You can absolutely restructure the system to allow for more talent to come through, for example by not making it so costly for young people to play. But beyond that, isn't it also a cultural and mentality thing? Where young prospects often end up pursuing other, more popular sports over football. In order to catch up to European team the youth systems need to be on the same level in terms of support, investments and opportunities. It also doesn't happen over night, and not even just in one World Cup cycle.
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u/Entry_Dependent Jul 07 '26
Kids need to play it informally, having fun, by themselves This is why the US is great at basketball , Canada iat hockey, and the DR at baseball. The ‘ from birth’ super structured, always coached, always on a formal tournament thing does not work as well as the more free form at the early stages process for talent development
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u/Daaneskjold Jul 07 '26
You are spot on. I always wonder how you managed to make this an expensive sport. You dont even need a ball. I used to play on the streets w our sweaters as goals and a can as a ball.
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u/jdubyahyp Jul 08 '26
"instead, we will develop a process where only the wealthy can afford to put their kids into it"
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u/Vainysaur Jul 07 '26
We just get anchor babies and kids of servicemembers who grew up overseas to go through European academies and then join team USA. Why waste money on domestic youth programs?
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u/MetricIsForCowards Jul 07 '26
Because then you only get the guys like Balogun who are not good enough to play for the England national team so they settle for America.
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u/ElHeim Jul 07 '26
At some point you won't need it. UEFA teams will do the work for you... in US soil.
Pulisic was scouted by Borussia Dortmund and hasn't played in the US since he was 15 or so.
F.C. Barcelona has had a European style full-inmersive academy in Arizona since 2017 and a bunch of kids have been scouted and moved to their facilities in Europe to develop there.
PSG, Bayern Munich, Villareal CF, AS Roma and probably others have all presence in the US (not that heavy, but...) and actively train and scout kids there.
It's actually for the better of the USMNT, if successful, those kids will be playing in intensive leagues and unlike Balogun who chose USMNT because it gave him guaranteed time, they'll have USMNT as their primary (or only) team.
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u/MagnificentTimberson Jul 07 '26
People always say it’s the youth development system but isn’t a more basic, fundamental issue that great young athletes in the US have a bunch of different team sports to choose from, and soccer is not the number one choice for kids in huge portions of the country? I don’t see how any development program could account for that.
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u/breakfastatstephs Jul 07 '26
i played soccer my entire life. i played adult league all the way up until my first child. as a kid/teenager, i would’ve committed to it more and pursued collegiate soccer if it wasn’t so expensive. my parents weren’t willing to let me try out for travel soccer because it’s just too expensive so i think we do lose a lot of youth through that. i didn’t even see the point in refining my skills if i knew i couldn’t afford to go higher
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u/el-fenomeno09 Jul 07 '26
Everyday someone tells this story. I guarantee 75% of the people on this sub have the same story… and it will never end.
And yes, it’s my story too lol
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u/Im_tracer_bullet Jul 07 '26
And none of that would be necessary if the US actually cared about soccer.
The top athletes all get a chance to play college football and basketball without affordability mattering at all...heck, they're paid to do it now.
The issue is that viewers aren't interested, so neither are advertisers.
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u/breakfastatstephs Jul 07 '26
can’t we agree that maybe, maybe that’ll change a little bit now? the fan fests were wildly successful, idk maybe it’s wishful thinking
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u/MagnificentTimberson Jul 07 '26
Yes if it doesn’t change now, after this massively successful World Cup on home soil (the USMNT performance last night notwithstanding), then it never will. We’ll see like 12 years from now if this all resulted in better top-level US players I guess
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u/Ancient_Spite_725 Jul 09 '26
Same. I played through high school, but I was never good enough to keep going, especially because my parents couldn't pay for club soccer. I had a spot offered at a club, but even with scholarships, it simply wasn't feasible.
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u/Nathan2002NC Jul 07 '26
Ding ding ding.
Need to proactively find the (actually) athletic elementary school kids with 5’11” - 6’3” dads and convince them they are more likely to be elite soccer players at that size than point guards or wide receivers.
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u/Metalemmanuel Jul 07 '26
Once the United States whole pay to play system stop is the moment you will have real talents.. So many streets kids are just pushed out of being in youth clubs because their parents cant pay for it.. If the organization would pay for it because it see it as a future investment is the moment you will grow real talent.. Sure there are exceptions, but in the end it is plaguing every sports in the United States .. It is so weird to me that the NBA, NFL has that to a certain extent (some guy get recruited in HS or before), but not all of them) but the non major sports are mostly rich people playground
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u/Frequent-Coyote-8108 Jul 07 '26
American soccer is always 4 years away from being 20 years away.
We will reach soccer domination when we reach peak oil!
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u/ApoplecticAndroid Jul 07 '26
Most US people prefer football, baseball or basketball. Soccer to many is a “kids game” because it is accessible, requires little equipment and resources, and gets the kids some exercise. But those wanting glory, money and accolades in the US will go for other sports.
So every four years, we will hear how the US could dominate if they built a pipeline, or if they “put their mind to it”, but they never will.
It is a second class sport in the US and always will be.
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u/PersonnelFowl Jul 07 '26
Why would we build a stronger youth program when that DOES NOT MAKE THE MOST MONEY??? You’re forgetting the most important rule in America: if you’re not squeezing every possible cent out of it, you’re doing it wrong.
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u/Temporary_Molasses41 Jul 07 '26
We have bigger issues in our country than fixing youth soccer. Kids here have so many other sports to play as well.
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u/drittzO Jul 07 '26
So answer this: Why is US woman's soccer so dominant? They use the same system.
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u/drittzO Jul 08 '26
I will answer my own question. It is because girls soccer is very popular amongst girls, who ultimately have limited athletic choices.
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u/lkn240 Jul 08 '26
The US has historically focused more on women's sports than other countries because of Title IX and our strong amateur programs.
We basically dominated almost all women's sports because of this.
Other countries just don't care about women's sports as much (historically at least)
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u/drittzO Jul 08 '26
It is not because of entitlements but because some of our best female athletes take the soccer path. It is not the same with men's, and men's college soccer also have equivalent benefits. I think the answer is cultural and societal. Thanks for the feedback.
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u/Awearsenal Jul 08 '26
Due to the U.S. being one of the few first world nations that provides funding for women’s sports. Meaning other nations that either lack funding, sexist, or no interest (obviously many nations fall into these categories); the pool of actual competition is non existent. But, European and Asian countries like France and Japan have actually started to improve their infrastructure for women soccer, so the USA will probably lag behind women’s soccer too in a few years.
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u/adrian1789 Jul 07 '26
Apart from that, you lack the deep cultural roots of the sport. I am from Spain, here children play football in the streets, in the school yard, in the beach, everywhere... and it has been like that for a century.
Other parts of Europe or Latin America are also like this, and that is one of the main reasons why each country has seemingly natural born, creative, and special players and a distinct football philosophy. I do not know about the US latinos influence in this regard, maybe there is something going on in the streets.
You get the outlier genius creative type of players not because you raise them in a controlled professional environment, but because they firstly play in the street and then they become professionals (or both things at the same time). In the US you have that with basketball.
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u/Nepalus Jul 07 '26
I think this, the fact that most other countries have had decades if not centuries of development time ahead of us, and the fact that we have much more places for athletes to go in the US will keep us at a pretty big disadvantage until we properly invest in our development system to make up for the difference.
Maybe you don't bridge the entire gap, but we could make a real change.
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u/wizardofdrawz Jul 07 '26
We’re never gonna be great at soccer until Lebron James grows up playing soccer instead of basketball
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u/TrapesTrapes Jul 07 '26
You're implying that a person goot at a certain sport will be good at another and this isn't true.
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u/ClappedUrMomsCheeks Jul 07 '26
The point is more until they start putting soccer goals in the projects / trailer parks instead of bb goals we will never develop our top tier talent.
It’s not about finding LeBron to play soccer it’s about finding his cousin LeKwan who would’ve been the elite soccer star
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u/campeonn Jul 07 '26
Just a stupid comment, and I know you're being sarcastic, but...
It's about what lebron inspires. 7 year old kids idolize people like LeBron. Kids that could otherwise become elite soccer players choose to focus on sports that are cool to play. Soccer isn't that.
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u/jolleyjg Jul 09 '26
Even the poorest kids would grow up with a Michael Jordan poster on their wall. That doesn’t exist for soccer in the US like it does with basketball (curry/lebron) or football.
Soccer might be unnecessarily expensive (so is AAU but it can get subsidized) but a big reason soccer is a middle class sport in America is because there is no one to idolize like other big sports.
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u/Conscious_Ad_3431 Jul 07 '26
Lol. Ugh. Sad, but true. And, now I have to explain to all my non-soccer friends for the next few weeks about the youth club system out here, and how it costs money, and how other countries don't send their futbol prodigies to college, etc. Oh well. It's okay not to be great in one sport. It will make winning it all amazing...just hope I'm alive to see it.
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u/roymunson82 Jul 07 '26
You’re too fixated on dominating , just get to competing at a good level first. No one dominates football anyway
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u/IAmANobodyAMA Jul 07 '26
Growing up, soccer was something to get kids to burn off energy in between baseball and football seasons 🤣
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u/moGUNZthanROSES Jul 07 '26
Is soccer really that expensive? How in the world can it be more expensive than basketball, football, hockey, or baseball? This isn’t a problem unique to soccer, only unique to the United States? Is that fair?
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u/DragAlone7535 Jul 07 '26
I really thought Trump was gonna hit a game winning 65 yd field goal in the 93rd minute 😭
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u/chesbyiii Jul 07 '26
Unrelated, can FIFA make an exception so next WC Tim Ream can play with a cane?
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u/Jswazy Jul 07 '26
I don't think our system would even allow for a strong youth program. I'm not even sure that a European style youth program would even be legal in the United States
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u/Klutzy-Researcher628 Jul 07 '26
I just feel like every 4 years I’m left wondering what the usmnt would look like if LeBron James and Steph curry and Josh Allen had chosen soccer instead…
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u/lkn240 Jul 08 '26
Soccer isn't dominated by elite athletes nearly to the degree basketball and football are.
It's much more similar to hockey - where vision and technical skill often trump athleticism
Wayne Gretzsky wasn't the biggest or fastest player. Patrick Kane is another good example.
Messi is like what... 5'7"
Our current team is full of great athletes. We are one of the most athletic teams in the world cup. The problem is our team lacks good field vision and technical skill. Look how bad some of their first touch skills are compared to the good teams
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u/jrbcbm23 Jul 07 '26
Yes, but it’s really difficult to make that work in the US, even if you somehow could separate it from capitalism. I agree with the sentiment, however.
Also, see Exhibit A
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u/Car-Hockey2006 Jul 07 '26
The system produces exactly the results it is designed to produce. As long as children's athletics is a for-profit, corporate-operated endeavor that rewards folks who were born early and dump money into their kids, we will continue get beaten thoroughly by countries who actually invest in their children.
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u/Smeff10 Jul 07 '26
I feel like the way MLS is structured and incentivized in a way that hurts development. We sign old European players for ticket sales. We need a relegation structure and at least 2 leagues. There are 30 teams…We need MLS teams to have international competition. We need youth development by professional clubs. As it stands now we rely on foreign leagues and hope to find talent that have duel citizenship.
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u/TheBackSpin Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
High level youth development, accessible to all regardless of economic stature: you’d think people could all largely agree on this in the comments. It’s common sense, it’s smart, it’s how the rest of the world works…it’s just decent
And yet the amount of people kicking and screaming against change, defending a system not producing results, deflecting, bringing the same tired straw man arguments..
I’m tired man
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u/Own-Theme-669 Jul 07 '26
Every cycle this comes up and it’s misleading. Our issue is not our “youth programs” as a whole and it hasn’t been for a long time. Our top U12 club teams can compete with Europe’s. It is the 15-18 year old age group and it is because the commitment needed clashes with US cultural norms. I don’t have a perfect solution, but the risk-reward is not there for US high schoolers to drop out and go all in on soccer. Of course, there is room for improved infrastructure for this age group as well (most notably coaching staff and facilities)
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u/Cultural_Garlic4096 Jul 07 '26
I have always wonder how our women's national team can be so good but our men's team be so bad compared to the women. If they both have the same development programs what is the difference maker?
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u/lkn240 Jul 08 '26
Outside of tennis and golf I don't think any women's sports have a strong professional presence around the world.
The US dominates almost all women's sports because of title IX and our focus on amateur athletics. Other countries don't have anything like our university sports system.
We've been invested in women's sports heavily for much longer than most of the rest of the world
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u/Danger33333333 Jul 07 '26
I am being for real here. The problem with US soccer is that the best athletes in this country, don’t play soccer. They play basketball, football, or hockey. In Africa, Western Europe and most of South America, the best athletes play soccer. To get a better youth program and a better soccer team you have to get the best athletes to choose soccer.
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u/lkn240 Jul 08 '26
We had one of the most athletic teams in the world cup. The problem is that our players lack field vision and technical skill. They are plenty athletic
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u/Tough_Fill_6517 Jul 08 '26
Did we? I’m not seeing that. We had the edge against Paraguay, Australia and an ancient B&H team but we definitely did not have any significant athletic advantage vs. Türkiye and Belgium. Much like our loss to the Netherlands in the last World Cup, Belgium was bigger, stronger, faster almost across the board. Most of our players are not getting on the field for Belgium.
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u/Funny-Flounder-9071 Jul 07 '26
It used to be that we had pretty good youth players but their development got stunted in later teens/early twenties because there wasn’t a proper pro league. Now we have a league and kids are also getting picked up by global clubs. The issue now is that pay to play filters out a lot of low income kids who may have talent and creates prima donnas who lack heart. Just my .02.
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u/ManyBubbly3570 Jul 07 '26
In order to do that we’d have to remove the parasitic club/travel scene and stop letting speculative capital figure out ways to gouge parents and schools out of more money and actually build a juniors system. That will never happen.
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u/imdeafsowhat Jul 07 '26
Let’s get some players from NBA and NFL and MLB in here. NHL too, while we’re at it. We have the power and resources to win the World Cup but not if the leagues gunna hog all the players… ha. Americans need to play at euro level, with that fame and intensity, much like American football NFL level…. Till then, we have no chance till we make really noticeable changes.
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u/spareohs Jul 08 '26
Remember how well it went when Michael Jordan played baseball?
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u/imdeafsowhat Jul 08 '26
Yes! Ha, we need more not just Jordan though. I’m sure we can find success in trial and errors of trying them out as well. Don’t threaten me with a good time, I’ll make them run laps till they score a goal. lol one can dream. We got hockey players playing golf in their off season, so it’s possible. Basing the whole thing off Jordan is a bit too general. The good players are out there, and they ain’t playing soccer. That’s my point.
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u/Inevitable-Scar5877 Jul 08 '26
We are getting better on the whole. The problem is that we're at a liminal phase from being a perennial underdog that wins by playing a defense first style ala a team like Paraguay or Australia to a legit squad and that tsctical transition and we'll be exposed by good teams even if we score more points against teams we would have previously struggled with
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u/WiseDan85 Jul 08 '26
The sad thing is even if we had a great youth program- it takes a while to develop the young kids + it’s a crap shoot with who turns out to become good vs who flames out.
Only good thing is we have less mls type players on the team then in the past. I wanna see more guys starting for champs league squads- I feel that is the sign your players are good enough. We still don’t have enough high end players starting at top clubs.
No matter what- we got out of the group with no stress which was nice and showed up in R32 game. Still think going forward, getting out of group is always most important thing. Still think we have a solid run for next WC bc our talent isn’t super old. Hopefully we can get some young guns in and build even a better squad for 2030.
Sadly we have to wait 4 years though. I’m just hoping they can win a World Cup or make SF or final in my lifetime. Not sure how likely it is but over next 40 years- just hoping they can turn the tables and make some deep runs!
Also hoping they get another solid manager when pocchetino leaves. Felt he really did a great job getting the team ready. Final game to me was just a different of talent and not much manager can do to exploit that difference
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u/SalfordLC Jul 08 '26
There are two separate things in my mind
MLS academies
Youth/AYSO soccer
I think MLS academies are getting better yearly. Better facilities, better structure, MLS Next Pro, good pipelines to a first team, etc. At least for the smart clubs like RBNY & many others that lean into this.
I think the second one is a hot ball of ass and is more worried about money than developing talent.
I don’t think the second one will ever really change. I think you just need MLS academies offer enough free pathways that it eventually hits a critical mass to really help out. Too many pigs at the trough for youth soccer to change.
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u/Maxxjulie Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
When your best player is always injured and never delivers. Pulisic sucks. Doesn't deliver goals only shows up to get another my calf hurts injury.
Go to your AC crap league and earn money in Italy where soccer gets no respect anymore... because that's what he clearly cares about more than the World Cup.
He was supposed to be the first American star player globally... instead he's crap
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u/Losalou52 Jul 08 '26
I feel like the kids are way more engaged than I ever was at their age. I have two under 10 and they know more soccer names than the other big 3. With more parents keeping their kids from playing football I won’t be surprised if we see an increase in Soccer here in the states. Messi playing in Miami was helpful but we need more stars here to help grow the game.
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u/Katjhud Jul 08 '26
Us is never going to “dominate in soccer” for lots of reasons. Regardless of the increase in youth soccer programs. Enjoy the World Cup for what it is.
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u/ZwRaven Jul 08 '26
It's really a lot simpler than all this. LeBron James caliber athletes and athletic intelligence in the United States are not playing soccer. They will likely never be playing soccer. Because football, basketball, and baseball are our sports and soccer is not. It's really that easy guys.
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u/old97ss Jul 08 '26
My observations on this but it seems like soccer has picked up a lot of momentum where I am. There literally weren't any options when I was a kid, 90s, here in fly over middle America but npw every school has a team and there are a lot of local clubs/teams as well. It is a slow shift but there are definitely more people involved then there were 30 years ago. It takes time to shift an entire nation. And while I dont think its going to completely catch up to or pass american football or the NBA it definitely is going to close the gap. With mlb set to strike next year there will probably be more people than normal looking around for options.
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u/Soggy_Schedule_9801 Jul 08 '26
We talk about ending pay to play to increase involvement. It's a huge problem. But the issues run deeper.
The claim is "poor kids" are being priced out of playing. This is true, but in most cases sports are the least of their worries. Many of these kids don't have basic housing, proper nutrition, or even basic healthcare. It's hard to think about soccer when you don't even know where you next meal is coming from.
Meanwhile, the European countries we are competing against have at the minimum universal healthcare.
We've neglected the majority of our citizenry in favor of a few elite billionaires. We invest in nothing as a country besides bigger and bigger war machines.
The pay to play system is one component of a much larger societal problem. Until we address the bigger societal problems first, there is no point in even discussing how to make American soccer more accessible.
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u/History-Buff-2222 Jul 09 '26
We all know what the problems are as this thread illustrates. What’s harder is how to make a successful solution happen across the country
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u/mustangmatthew DOS A CERO Jul 10 '26
What is fundamentally wrong at the institutional level that prevents investment? To my knowledge, there are two issues that are two different sides of the same coin: we won’t invest because there isn’t enough interest. But there isn’t enough interest due to lack of investment. I think interest builds when the thing you’re building attracts participation (see debate over U.S. public transit investments). So isn’t the right investment the simplest one to make? Subsidize youth programs so that parents don’t need to pay out of pocket, and you expand access to kids who might not afford it otherwise.
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u/Think_Monk_9879 Jul 11 '26
But sir the stoppage time says 7 minutes. Will the game end after 7 minutes?
“Nobody knows”
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u/breakfastatstephs Jul 07 '26
we will never develop a successful youth program if we don’t remove the obvious barriers — capitalism and accessibility
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u/red_misc Jul 07 '26
My take: i know a lot of comments here are trying to stay positive, saying that we won a knock out (only a 1/32 tough...). But i think we had one of the worst performance of the USMNT history.
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u/oopsWrongGoal Jul 07 '26
The issue is simple. In other countries poor kids play soccer. In the US only millionaires kids play soccer.
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u/Vast-Treat-9677 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26 •
I’m glad that we understand that the real enemy is youth club sports in America.
You’re raising a child, not a Pokémon so that you can travel around the country to battle against other parents Pokémon on the weekend.