The US should've still qualified out of CONCACAF, but the issues holding the USMNT back overall are more program and institutional based than Arena, Klinsi, Ramos, Bob Bradley, or whats happened over these 10 matches in the last 11 months. There are numerous potential superstars amongst our youth, but the way US soccer operates presently, most of them will never be discovered. Kids are playing more playing in the playgrounds and in the streets, but its still not like they are in other countries...."pay-to-play" is their only organized outlet, which makes it more of a middle or upper middle class sport like tennis or golf. There is a huge gap in national team players between the ages of 24-29. 11 of 20 outfield players are over the age of 30. We're using the same players now that we used not only 2014, but also in 2010. Chris Wondolowski and DeMarcus Beasley are still among the best this country has to offer? Soon to be 37-year old Jermaine Jones wouldve probably been involved in these qualifiers if not for injuries.
I mean, Iceland with a population slightly more than LEXINGTON, KY, can develop a national team program that makes the knockout stages of Euro 2016, make it to Russia in 2018, and be ranked in the top 20 in the world. But, this country, with over 300 million, cant navigate through a group past Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama and make it to a World Cup? Cant beat an already eliminated largely developmental Trinidad & Tobago squad to qualify for the World Cup?
Tonight was an absolute debacle, but its been a long time in the making.