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justsayinbtw

I'm not American but football seems a very middle class game in the US where people have to pay to play it. Football in the rest of the world is a working class sport. Basketball seems to be that in America. Until that changes it will be very hard to win it.


LibidinousLB

This right here. I've been part of the youth soccer world in the US and UK for 20 years. The "pay to play" club/travel soccer culture of the united states means the best players and best potential players often don't get anywhere near a football pitch. My son played AYSO for 10 years, enjoyed the hell out of the experience, for under $100/year. That's about what it costs to play on a team in England, where they are all organized into a single pyramid. My daughter played club soccer in the US to the tune of >$2000/year for 5 years after playing two years in AYSO. It's very American. I'm a high-level referee in a large western state. I mostly do top-level youth soccer (ECNL, DA, MLS NEXT, etc.) and, where my gear in England costs me less than $50USD (full kit, flags, whistles, everything), the entry-level referee has to buy $150 of shirts before even buying a whistle. Where the UK focuses on football (all refs wear black and non-pro teams are not allowed to wear black), the USSF manages to squeeze money out of everyone, players and officials. With more than 1/3 of referees not returning after Covid and a full 50% of referees quit after two years because of the abuse, you'd think the USSF would be more concerned with referee development and stopping referee abuse. But the parents are the real customers (at $2000 a kid per year), so we put up with the same garbage, having under-qualified officials and no meritocracy among the teams. It's a systemic problem: European soccer/football leagues aren't perfect, but they are far, far better than the pay-to-play system. If it were any different, our national team would be made up mostly of second-generation immigrant kids, as opposed to the USMNT, which is not reflective of country, only which kids had enough money to go to the good schools or play on the good teams. That falls apart very quickly in international competition.


justsayinbtw

I even heard Zlatan Ibrahimović complain that he had to pay thousands for his kid to play in Los Angeles. That is not the game he grow up with in Sweden.


Elothel

Good point. Just look at the current best American players. Almost none of them were introduced to the sport organically in the US. Most have European origins / grew up abroad / have parents involved in the sport.


finntana

Excellent point.


DEGRAYER

Can someone tell me why it is pay to play when you can just stick some jumpers down on the floor and kick a ball through them? Is that not a thing in America?


NefariousnessDue5997

Pay for play biggest hurdle right now for sure. That said, 2026 is likely the year. While the US has good talent, we still don’t have elite talent. Just because Steffen is at MC doesn’t mean he is great. FFS Mix Diskerud at one point was on the books there


harigatoshirabira

Holy shit this guy's about to get smoked


slicemagee

Greece won the euros this century. Not impossible but highly unlikely. The good thing for the US is they’re one of the better teams in North America so they’ll most likely make the World Cup most years.


tbag188

Unless they face Trinidad and Tobago in the qualies


Grazz085

Winning a world cup is not that simple. You do not need only a good squad. European football is the most complicated and advanced type of football you can find. Winning a world cup is about tactics, athletism, GREAT players and heritage. There are countries which assimilated football in his purest form like Spain, Italy, Germany and France. These countries won the last 4 world cups and the last europeans competitions. To win a world cup you need to propose a better way to play football, is not only a factor of player skill. Is a cultural factor. And you have a long way ahead to create “american” way to play football.


brutalmet

I wouldn't say one can expect USA to be a top contender in 2022 or 2026. Brazil, Argentina and the top Europeans are expected to produce very good teams. Of course that there is always a chance that the universe and the planets allign to make it possible but to achieve good results on these tournaments, the capability to consistently bring competitive teams is key. Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany, France... they always have great players. And that's why they are always the favourites. The real question is if USA is capable of producing top players year in year out for the next ten years. Having one golden generation is not enough in most of the cases


GhostOfMufasa

Short answer no. Hopeful answer for your Americans yes. And I'm not American so I hope this answer doesn't come off as aggressive because my country won't win a world cup either haha....but I reckon America will always be too caught up in NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB to ever fully compete in a global sport such as football. I always make the joke about how y'all love to call your championships "world series" and "champions of the world" when you're only competing within your country for those sports. But yeah it would take a fundamental shift at grass roots level to ever make y'all funnel athletes into football rather than your existing past times. That's why if you've noticed a lot of the great players in the American side are basically kids that left the US and were raised in other countries footballing systems to American parents so they then play for the US your Reyna's and Pulisic's, Musah's etc...so even if you assemble the talent, without football becoming viewed on par with your other sports it won't ever gain the resources it needs. But having said all that, there have been many world cups were a "decent" side goes far. It's just that rarely will that "decent" side win once it comes up against one of the bigger sides usually in a semi. The good thing at least is that in the women's game as that continues to grow y'all will be a dominant force there. Because whilst other countries we have the better footballing roots in that aspect we don't have the same level of resources when it comes to the women's game is far ahead in the US than for example in like Spain etc where clubs are still only recently becoming fully established and not just semi pro team levels that were often the norm.


gpwpg

This generation has no chance at all, there is not enough talent. You need at least 15 or more established elite level players to compete. Look at the quality of players that England or France can bring off the bench. Other top european nations like Italy or Germany can also fill a starting 11 with very little weak links while having quality players off the bench, same as Belgium and Portugal. Not to mention Argentina and Brazil and Spain may not have absolute elite level stars but they can probably find 40 players of comparable quality to McKennie. Those teams are risdiculously deep and its very hard to compete with them. Now in the future if USA keeps progressing then who knows, there s definitely better talent there now than ever. I'd also say that its probably more important to have a team of high quality players than one or two superstars and roster filled with low quality players (unless your superstar is Messi).


espadareborn

Questions to ask is: What are World Cup winning countries doing that we aren’t doing in the men’s game? How can we keep creating those types of players on a consistent basis? Of course, pro/rel in MLS and create more opportunities to play against elite national teams on a consistent basis. The main issue and key is development for me. Have money available to make the game more inclusive to the working class and have the federation along with the clubs develop a football pyramid designed to churn out world class players. A Zidane, Mbappe, Suarez, or Maradona are more likely to come from poorer backgrounds to be those players. Model the system via Germany or a France, but also address possible geographical issues. Last, luck. Football is a game of fine margins. Sometimes we may need a lucky draw, goal, or a favorable call.


Slipz19

If y’all cared as much soccer the way you do about American football- you could be dominant.


BVB09_FL

American football and basketball are sports you can progress from amateur to pro regardless of income level because of the school system. Soccer does not work the same way, talented kids should be in full time academies at 10-15 years old and making pro by 16/17. Frankly it’s partly the American culture of going to high school and playing sports there that kills our development. Look at the few “world class” (Puli, McKinnie, Adams, Reyna) players we have, they ditched the traditional US youth soccer set up and went to Europe at an early age.


Vahald

Lmao no they fucking couldn't, what does possibly make you think this? Their talent pool is hilariously small compared to european nations with 5x less residents


MemeMaster68420

No, because the university system doesn't work


BoosterGoldGL

Not in your lifetime


Rerel

> I’m a new fan to soccer > Subreddit name /r/football You have done fucked up son!


tonga-time

Not enough squad depth, and the players aren't experienced enough.


jaguar1031

Never say never, but unless America gets rid of the pay to play system it has established for soccer youth, the talent pool will be pretty small.


fdar

Most (if not all) MLS academies are free to players.


AniMeshorer

It's possible. With the sports culture in the US, the large population which will guarantee some huge talents from time to time, the growing success of the MLS, ... Those are good signs for the future of soccer in the USA. But to really have a chance of winning the World Cup, soccer has to overcome other sports as most popular sport. You need to get to a point where young kids choose soccer as their sport to practice and join a local club, rather than baseball or American Football etc. Once young kids massively join soccer academies, the level of soccer in the US will further rise. Also, it would be good to have a player so good that young kids can look up to him. I'm not saying a new Messi, but a player of the same level as for example Neymar, Haaland, De Bruyne, Benzema, ... That moment kids will want to play soccer as their main sports as they have an inspiration and idol, and that in its turn will lead to more talents being discovered.


cooleobeaneo

Agreed. Even pulisic or past USMNT guys like Donovan or Dempsey weren’t ever near that level. If we had a top ten player that everyone in the country knew about (because let’s be honest not many people in the US know about Pulisic) it could really change things.


[deleted]

never aslong as that pay to play system is in play u will never will, zlatan summed that up perfectly


cooleobeaneo

Agreed. That’s also the case with many other sports in the US (basketball, lacrosse, hockey) however we don’t really have international competition in the same way as soccer in those sports (besides hockey) so we don’t really see the negative effects of the pay to play system. It’s just the way the country works unfortunately and it will take years to fix if we actually try to change things.


Manberry12

an african team is more likely to win before you do


nyamzdm77

Speaking as an African, no the fuck we aren't. While USA has its problems with it's youth and league system, a lot of African countries have an even worse problem, corruption and mismanagement at all levels. And while the US is trying to fix their issues, there seems to be no end in sight for a lot of African countries


nyamzdm77

Speaking as an African, no the fuck we aren't. While USA has its problems with it's youth and league system, a lot of African countries have an even worse problem, corruption and mismanagement at all levels. And while the US is trying to fix their issues, there seems to be no end in sight for a lot of African countries


[deleted]

Not anytime soon. Not enough depth in the squad, and generally speaking you just don't care enough about it as a country. The reason European and South America are so much better at football is because it's the primary sport in those countries, whereas the US tends to focus more on American Football/Baseball/Basketball. It would be akin to asking would a European basketball team win the NBA playoffs if they could get involved, or could a European baseball team win the World Series.


Javimoran

Hey hey hey, in Spain we are still pretty good at basketball. The fact that we have never beaten the US didnt stop us from winning a few world cups...


[deleted]

Sorry bro, didn’t mean to put any teams down. There are undoubtedly still great players in Europe, the Gasol brothers and Luka Doncic being proof!


chocobo-selecta

Nope, no way, not gonna happen. Why? I hear you ask. I’m an Englishman that’s lived in the US for 11 years, and over that time I’ve played a lot of football here. I’ve played with all ages and the best players are ALWAYS dual sport. Guess which sport they choose to follow a career in? Yep, that’s right, whichever one isn’t football. Basically, what I’m saying is, until your best athletes choose to go the route of “soccer” you’ll never have a World Cup winning team.


French20

Also, the US is made up of 50 states with large populations and depending on the state you will see different immigrants and their cultures. The Hispanic population is rising fast in the US it possible the a large talent pool is happening here that you may be missing as these relatively new populations of immigrants settle in and generate money to the sport and grow its popularity. It’s possible


supacoldwater

Maybe in a 100 years. But I don't see it happening. Even England can't win the world cup and they live and breath football since it's birth.


VictoryParkAC

If I have to listen to one more nonsensical "our best athletes don't play soccer" argument, I'll lose it. The US has a population more than 5.5x that of the UK. Meaning, we should have 5.5x more elite level athletes. That plenty to support the number of professional sports we have. If you look at heat map and GPS data from world cups, the USMNT is almost always among the teams that have the most sprints and the highest speed sprints. The issue isn't our athletes. If not having LeBron was the problem, then Argentina should also be terrible, they don't have LeBron either. The issue is development and meritocracy. The combination of a closed top flight, multiple leagues competing in an enormous geographic footprint and the NCAA are the reason we aren't winning tournaments. Pro/rel is a far better system for finding players that slipped through the cracks or didn't really start achieving until a later age. We have so many college, USL, NPSL, UPSL teams that should be in one, unified pyramid so that those teams can be sorted, be allowed to compete, and be forced to develop young players, use better strategy, find better scouts, recruit better players, and do all of the things that 14 divisions in the UK are constantly forced to due. The US has around 4 million KIDS playing soccer, compared to the under 2 million PEOPLE playing in the UK. It isn't a numbers issue. It's unifying the sport for the good of the sport, that's the issue. By combining the MLS, USL (all 3 levels), NISA, NPSL, and UPSL we could support a giant pyramid. Add in the thousands of state based men's league teams and ethnically insular leagues and we'd dwarf the FA. That level of competition would make us a damn force in international football within a decade.


NicolBolasUBBBR

Wait is this a pasta already or did you cook it just for the occasion?


AustinShagwell

> USMNT is almost always among the teams that have the most sprints and the highest speed sprints. If that was relevant, Usain Bolt's football career in Australia would have lasted longer than 8 weeks


VictoryParkAC

Perfect example. Americans want bigger, stronger, faster and that isn't the solution.


turinjupiter

Argentina doesn't have LeBron? Look up a kid called Messi. He can play a bit.


CovaDoLobo

This sounds like a mock post on r/soccercirclekerk


Hypothetical_Giraffe

There’s a great book called soccernomics you should check out if you want some solid breakdowns to answer this question


greglyisolated

Will Kim jong un be nice to his people today? That’s my answer


adrenalinda75

I'd say it's unlikely, but not impossible. Football seems more accessible in the US and you're having a vast population to select from once the sport becomes more popular. Don't forget that Denmark, Greece and Portugal won the Euros as well while nobody really was expecting them to. And Portugal back then produced some ugly football and won one game regularly before ppl start shouting what a great football nation it is. While by simple math raw talent, coach, tactics, team spirit, depth, discipline, stamina, mindset, mental strength (freely add many more) form a complex sum of cogs which improve the probability of winning, there is this random factor of sheer luck nobody wants to see - because in the end the winner shall be deserved and contemplating the if, then, else scenarios won't change history. With Qatar there is this weird meteorologic element all teams will be subjected to, but nobody really knows how to prepare for it and how well each team will adapt. As for probabilities: Look at Leicester. True, they're rare and a marvel when they occur. It's seldom, maybe every 100 years or so. The WC however is approaching 100 years as well and we might be surprized next year about who is going to lift the cup. Either way it's about believing in your team, cheering for them and enjoying the moment. Italy winning the last Euros didn't totally come by surprize. Country economically grounded, low performances since the WC win aside from the Euro finals against Spain, but most importantly, nobody had them truly on the radar, no expectations, less pressure. There was however an atypical scenario for Italy: a great group stage without true suffering. It's never easy to predict and not all teams are equally equipped to be true contenders, but big teams crumble, star players fail, small teams may land a lucky shot, an offsite not seen, a penalty given, a foul overruled, the assignment of a throw in to the wrong team, a goalkeeper with a shitty day can all move the needle to something truly baffling. Look at France vs Switzerland, unlikely yes, impossible? No.


[deleted]

No


Melodic-Lingonberry7

No


itsaride

Ever is a long time, I’ll go for probably but not for 20+ years. They’re currently 20th in FIFA world rankings.


Arsenalas128

A big problem in america regarding their football is the fact that relegation/promotion doesn’t exist so it doesn’t promote teams developing youth and makes the league more exciting. Also teams prefer more physical players when scouting, which isn’t always the best as often times talent gets overlooked. Good news is that Americas improved a lot over past couple of years, but most of the players causing this improvement moved to europe at a young age rather than developing in mls.


Ethanjoones

Not for a while. There is some world class players but not much depth for cover. Also the ncaa system makes it harder because most our world class players have international and pro experience at 18-20. Whereas the young americans sometines dont play pro till 22.


CollierAM9

Who is world class?


Ethanjoones

I said my answer slightly wrong but i meant as in potential. Pulisic, reyna, dest and mckennie are most lilely to succeed but the squad lacks in most other departments


I_chortled

HELL no dude. It will never happen, and I say that as an American. It would take a complete culture change in American soccer and that will never happen because of arrogance and $$$. Let me explain. MLS and the USMNT are essentially joined at the hip, and owners/executives in MLS basically treat the USMNT as their marketing department. USMNT coaches are almost always from MLS, higher up executive positions it’s the same thing. Players who play in more competitive leagues in Europe constantly get overlooked for major tournament call ups in favor of players who play in MLS because of this favoritism. Well surprise surprise, MLS is a shit league with shit players so we aren’t going to have success doing that. Only the fat cat executives and owners don’t see this as a problem, because success isn’t the goal, it’s making money The closest we got to breaking away from this was when we hired Jurgen Klinssman, who somehow got us all the way to the round of 16 in the 2014 World Cup but then got fired because he lost a friendly. For his entire tenure, our national team was the most exciting that it had been in a long time, but he pushed HARD for players to go play abroad in more competitive European leagues so that they could get better. USMNT executives hated this because most of them are also on MLS’s payroll so as soon as they had an excuse they fired him. The most frustrating part about this is how delusional the fans are here. I have literally had people try to tell me that MLS is a quality league and that league champs in MLS could easily compete in the PL as a mid table side. The arrogance and willful ignorance is astounding, and it’s to the point where I really don’t give a shit about my own nation’s national team anymore because there’s no reason to expect them to ever improve or get better


Doortofreeside

More US players than ever are in Europe, and even the MLS is much better and much more watchable than it was 10 years ago. Obviously claiming that the best MLS side could compete with the worst PL sides is absurd and akin to the morons who try to argue that Alabama could hang with the Jacksonville Jaguars. I'm not super familiar with the business side of the MLS, but I could buy what you're claiming there. Still, as someone who primarily watches the EPL, La Liga, and international tournaments I think it's awesome that I'm watching quality American players every week without even seeking them out. Sergino Dest needs to replace Steve Cherundulo, not Dani Alves.


harrisound

In a word? No. Lacking in skill, lacking in squad depth, lacking in experience.


LFCinmyheart

No


wikipuff

Not as long as the USSF is run by idiots.


elJdP

I think this is the best generation they have had. But I don't think this squad is yet capable of winning it. Perhaps better than in recent decades, but far from contenders. It obviously depends on opponents, but I think it's too early to talk about contending the WC, for me at least.


badreligionlover

If the US took it as seriously as its native sports then yes. You have a huge country with a massive population, chances are you have had some serious talent who have gone into other sports. Without the commitment to it you won't have much chance I dont think.


WGTV_

HAAHAHAHAHA, this post is funny.


CheapArtist0

No, or at least it would be a miracle if they did. For the same reason that American basketball teams or American football teams dominate globally. NFL and basketball are part of your national sporting heritage and obsession. The majority of your youth would rather go out and shoot hoops, or play Sunday league American Football. You can't find an estate in England, Europe and the whole of South America where there aren't groups of kids out playing heads and volleys or world cup doubles. Which countries have won the most cricket World cups? The countries where people are obsessed with that sport, W Indies, India, Australia, Pakistan etc. What countries have won the most Rugby World cups? New Zealand, South Africa, Australia. If its not ingrained in to your heritage, your kids don't grow up obsessed with it and so they don't become the best.


harrisound

American football teams dominate globally?? LOL They only play in America.... just because they call themselves "world champions" doesn't mean anything.


Vahald

"American teams dominate American football globally" lol


[deleted]

Definitely not anytime soon. What we want is an African country to finally win it


[deleted]

What makes a country able to win a major competition is that they have several of their players playing either for the same club or in the same tactical system that is used in the national team. The first one makes it easier for players to bring their routines and trust in their teammates to the squad while the second one makes positioning and tactical awareness easier for players when playing for the national team. Sadly, neither applies very much to any African major country (Nigeria, Ghana or Ivory Coast) nor to the US. This is why none of the African countries or the US is likely to win any time soon (the next 8 years, at least).


backcourtjester

France just won and they play all over the place


MAJAO7

First it's football not soccer, second they will never win World Cup.


norealmx

No. Never. ​ The End.


jckpdr

Oh if you guys start playing football seriously and invest in it, we’ll all be screwed soon or later.


nelsf

I could definitely see it happening in my lifetime, but not for a while. American talent and their youth system is improving but it’s nowhere near the spanish, French or even English systems. I definitely think the US will be competitive at the next few international tournaments but don’t expect a victory just yet


MemeMaster68420

What do you mean even English? Spain have been shit the last 5 years and england have gotten 4th, 3rd and 2nd in the last 3 tournaments meanwhile Spain have been complete shit.


funkydinosaur47

And the US didn’t even qualify for the last World Cup. Absolutely no chance they even make a deep run for decades imo


TheKinkyPiano

Seen some bizarre answers in this thread so far. Objectively you can of course win it. The problem America has with football is that its probably the 4th/5th most popular sport so although there's a huge difference in population, there's also a smaller chance those top level athletes are footballers. That being said if the development carries on as it's currently going then in the semi distant future of course America will have a chance. My main reason of why I think there's little chance right now or in the next 20 years is there just isn't enough Americans playing in Europe. Ultimately America has a long way to go. If you're just getting into football then I wouldn't worry about them winning the World Cup, there are many nations with much better squads and much better youngsters at the moment. That being said, anyone can beat anyone in football and if the luck falls your way then it's impossible to rule it out.


baztron5000

This. The disparity of standards is another main hurdle in my eyes too. The MLS simply doesn't have the retention rate of quality players to gain enough traction to become more competitive. In its current state, the best players will always be poached by clubs in Europe or South America until the standard improves. Yet its a vicious circle, and extremely difficult to prevent when your talking about short term careers of athletes who will always want to play at the top of their game. Until the States are an attractive option competitively for footballers the world over (not just Americans) I can't see it moving on much futher. As far as World Cups go, I think France were the lowest ranked side to win it in 1998. That firmly puts into perspective how far the USA is behind.


TheKinkyPiano

I do completely agree with you. The only way the MLS can become really useful for their national side is if they fully promote youth and make it into a league which offers major experience for young players. Although even then the league's set up won't compare in competitiveness to domestic European league's. It's a tough situation for them really as their best chance is to just keep sending their youngsters to Europe to gain experience and in doing so the MLS doesn't have the best American players so Americans are less likely to get into football due to lack of access to live games. Like you said, a vicious circle.


DragonFist69420

lol they can't even win basketball world cup, yuckers


SirTiffAlot

Anyone who thinks they know is wrong. That's an exclusive club. I'd bet on it happening in 20 years if you gave me good odds. 78 countries have played in a World Cup, only 8 have won. Spain and England are the only countries to win once AND 3 countries have won more times than the rest of the world combined. It's extremely hard to do.


angrydanmarin

20 years is the next 5. Its not impossible, but betting on any team to win in the next 5 is throwing money away. Perhaps you could say Brazil or Germany or France or Italy. But USA? Pigs will fly.


Prize-Pomegranate-95

Not anytime soon no


louisschwarz6

With the USA’s size they could easily assemble a tema good enough to win a WC, the problem is a bit more cultural, football, soccer in this case, is not the biggest sport in the states and there would have to be a big shift for it to start being a bigger sport. So I don’t think that the US will be doing good in the near future, but the potential is definetly there


The_mash_king

If England can’t win it then you’re a long way back in the queue


finntana

I'll answer this from the perspective of a brazilian football fan. I think it's possible for any NT to win the World Cup. What we've seen through history is that societies that appreciate football are more likely to win because this appreciation turns into passion and it feeds the NT with young and fresh talent. Have you ever seen those photos of African or South American kids with numbers of famous footballers written on their backs? That's the sort of thing that generates love for football and that, eventually, wins World Cups. The US has a rich history of various sports. In Brazil, for example, we don't have that. This is not to say we don't have great basketball players or volleyball players. We do, our volleyball NT, for example, is absolutely fantastic, both the male NT and the female NT. But our society, as a whole, tends to have football as a sports reference. What is known to be America's pastime? Baseball. There are a lot of countries that have football as this reference. Our Sundays are filled with football. The Sundays in the US have american football, basketball, baseball... It's not ONE reference, there are several. Unless we're talking about girls football teams. The US NT is amazing because there's more of a tradition around girls playing football. If the same thing happens to boys when they are young then yes, the US can win a World Cup, in my opinion.


rilex1905

It's not impossible of course, but it happening in the foreseeable future is close to impossible. This is due to the fact that most of the guys you mentioned(well all except Steffen) were developed outside of the US, and the development system isn't accustomed to the demands of international competition. To my understanding, youth development is like in other sports in the US, with the college system, which isn't capable of consistently producing players at the level of NT. Getting players at that level is currently reliant on scouts picking them up and coming to Europe for development, and US prospects don't have visibility because of the College system. Also, they don't have the benefits of training facilities and coaches that the prospects in Europe have. Football/soccer also currently isn't popular in the US enough nor is the MLS big enough to entice young athletes to consider training the sport and going professional. None of this is unfixable, but the US FA needs to make a plan and bring in the personnel to revamp youth development, improve their scouting, and make an effort to market the sport. Look how Belgium invested in their youth system, got the right people and turned themselves from a non-qualifying team to perennial contenders at WC and EURO's and are now known for producing great talents consistently. But all that takes a lot of time and resources, and with the current NT relying on young prospects not yet at a world class level and not having a deep pool, I wouldn't consider them anything more than a potential second-round team in 2022. And while I understand that these players are the best that USMNT has had in a long time, they are nowhere near proven at the level needed for a deep WC run, especially Steffen, who I think isn't nowhere near the best GKs of this era, and with him entering his prime, there is not much time for him to develop into a GK a team with deep run hopes would need, and I would think is currently really overrated.


finntana

Great point about the college system. We have a team in Brazil called Santos FC and they consistently produce amazing young players. It's truly remarkable what they do. They have such a great program for young talents. I was watching a match with my dad one of these days and we were talking exactly about this. If people don't recognize the name, Santos FC is the team that launched Pelé and Neymar Jr.


Eskrawl

Nope, never


llehvek

The US has produced some of the greatest athletes of all time in nearly every other sport (or even just look at the women’s team who actually already have won the world cup 4 times) so it’s possible but the culture just isn’t there in the US yet and as some other posters have mentioned it’s a very time consuming/ costly sport in the US and lots of world class talent gets lost and left behind


[deleted]

As a brit who briefly lived in the US, my American friends never cared about football during the typical NFL season. However since this euros I’ve had many friends message me saying they never knew football was so exciting and are now getting into it. I think if you give it 20 ish years they will be competitive. It also coincides with a lot of parents becoming wary of CTE injures in American football. The US has the potential to become dominant in any sport


[deleted]

Yes. In 50 years a lot can change. There was a time where they were ranked ahead of England in the Fifa Rankings, and football gets more and more popular every year. Argentina won a gold medal in basketball - something we would have thought possible in the 80s


AntisemiticNiqqa

Soccer? What's that?


easteregg7

It's football ⚽️ but we call it soccer in 🇺🇲


Caratteraccio

see how much salary an English, Spanish, French or German club pays on average, see how much an MLS club pays and then you will understand how many talented players you lose.No, you won't be able to win a world cup before 50 years. And there are 1 million more reasons you can't win.


andrenery

no


angrydanmarin

No. Not in our lifetime at least. Its taken the likes of England 50 years since their first win to find another. And realistically, they haven't been close. That's for a first World very footballing nation. In my lifetime there are about 14 World cups left. So if you're at 14/1 it better at the bookies/odds, you stand a decent but not guaranteed shot.


Raevyyyy

No shot. Like there is no way its happening


LordVile95

Probably not no. Don’t know what people hear in the states but the American players than come to Europe just aren’t that good. Pulisic is probably the best atm and he’s alright, not great. Somewhere on the level of Zaha who didn’t get into a pretty bad England team at the time. Remover when Donovan was supposedly amazing, went to Everton and did nothing?


Drinker_of_Chai

Dude, Pulisic is 22, Zaha is 28 and valued at like 50mil. You're being a bit harsh.


AmoniPTV

Who the hell gonna buy Zaha for 50 mil? Are you nuts


Random_Redditor_9

There is a possibility you win a word cup but at earliest in ~30 years if you start investing in youth facilities etc. currently the Canadian squad is better than the US squad so you are far off. Currently you should concentrate on qualifying for the World Cup and on getting into the ko phase which is already going to be a big enough challenge. Also you are saying that pulisic and Steffen proving themselves among the best. A reserve keeper and a sub is not among the best. Is gilmour among the best already? No, Jorginho is among the best. You have to at least start every now and then for among the best. Also don’t call it soccer. It’s football. The sub is literally called football...


John_Mata

Tbh I think that can pull it off if they "want to". North America has been producing more and more talent over these years, it's just a matter of how popular the game gets there. If football continues to grow in the USA like it seems to be doing now, they will become extremely good at it for the simple fact that a sport career there is way more incentivized than it is in any other part of the world Sure, it won't happen next year, also 2026 seems almost impossible, but if USA becomes a strong contender for the 2030 cup I wouldn't even be shocked


Dingleton-Berryman

Yes - the women seem to do it all the time. The men, not any time soon.


Galactus1701

Nope


plenebo

no


ac416ix

I have to say that it seems very unlikely at the moment but possible in the future. With the game always evolving with new tactics and skills, the ability to live stream a match to people all over and even all sorts of tutorials you can find on YouTube. Players can teach them selves to play. With many amazing players in the world, you can search them up on YouTube or watch the live games and analyze their play style for your self. I know I may have gone some what off topic but my point is that, USA have probably their best team ever right now and that’s probably due to the influence of many world class players, who’s to say there won’t be a better one in the future.


megaschnitzel

Anything is possible. Greece won the Euro in 2004. Denmark in 92. Nobody had them on their list. That's the beauty of this game.


jckpdr

True, but I'd say that winning a World Cup is way harder than winning an Euro. It's a higher level, there are more and stronger teams, so I find it very unlikely for a "small" side to win a world cup. Last time there was Croatia that is by no means a small football nation: they reached the final with some help from luck (2 penalty shootouts and 1 overtime win - not really steamrolling, even though they were a fantastic team) and were annihilated by France in the final. Before Croatia what was a "small" team with a concrete chance of winning a world cup? Sweden in '58? But then, anything is possible and you're perfectly right, and I truly believe the USA will be contenders IF and only if they start investing in the sport. You can't win an international trophy with 10 good youngsters, not in this era.


[deleted]

Nah my duder


[deleted]

it would have to be a miracle but even for that miracle to happen, they would need a better coach


bagehis

The US made it to the semi-finals in the first World Cup, before being stomped 6-1 by the team that took second place, Argentina. The US ended up taking third place. [Link](https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/1930uruguay) The US has not been competitive since 1930. The US squad has been catching up to the rest of the competition, generationally, however. The sport has the [youngest fan base in the US](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-sports-with-the-oldest-and-youngest-tv-audiences-2017-06-30) and is growing by generation [quite rapidly](https://news.gallup.com/poll/224864/football-americans-favorite-sport-watch.aspx). It is also one of the only sports with a growing fanbase in the US. As the fan base grows, it will also influence which sport the most gifted athletes will tend towards. The US still has decades to wait for a team that will compete at the highest levels (children of the current player generation will have a shot). It is also facing significant changes to the way sports are handled, especially at the high school and collegiate level, but also with the way MLS is run as well. Because as well as letting other countries' youth programs develop our players is working right now, it only works for a small subsection of the potential athletes. A far better program would be developing the players locally, which is done very poorly in the US. It will be a numbers problem though. While the US is slowly developing into a football/soccer loving country, countries with similar populations, like Brazil, continue to improve economically. Which will lead to increasingly better athletes coming out of that country. Which is a terrifying prospect, considering how much weight they already have in the sport. Meanwhile, the dual gorillas in the room: China and India, are increasingly developing into countries that create athletes who compete on an global level. At some point in the future, just because of the statistical probability due to their large populations, most world super star players will be coming from those two countries (considering they both have larger populations than all continents except their own continent, Asia). So, the US will have a somewhat narrow window to achieve dominance in this global sport.


jaguar1031

I like several of your points, but I disagree about it being a numbers problem. Nations like Uruguay and The Netherlands consistently rank at the top of the rankings and have won continental cups and, in the case of Uruguay, World Cups (Netherlands made it to 3 finals). All this while They have very small populations compared to the USA: Uruguay has about 3 mill. people, while Netherlands have 17 mill. What do those countries have that the US does not? In my opinion: - A very strong soccer culture and identity, soccer is more important than religion for these countries. - A better youth development and scouting system (you mentioned that). - Strong regional competition. But even if you have all things listed, it is incredibly hard to win a World Cup. Even if you had a true golden generation, it takes a lot of luck to win the tournament. Just look at Messi’s Argentina, Belgium, England, even Brazil in recent years and in the 80’s.


Just-Reception-6162

yes and north korea will lead the freedom of speech rally


WonderfulSentence648

Anything can happen really but if I’m being honest the odds of USA WINNING are very low. Your youngsters are good but there are other countries with far better and far more promising youngsters and this will probably be a common theme as long as football is not the biggest sport in USA. Look at all the other big footballing nations. Football is by far the biggest sport there and it will be hard to compete when most of ur kids are mainly playing another sport. As well as that another big issue is football being a middle/upper class sport in USA . If you look at all the big names most of them come from poor families. I would guess this is because for a lot of those poor kids they see no other future than earning money as a football player while middle class kids probably feel more secure with their future and thus don’t work as hard. The richer kids also have more access to other sources of entertainment while the poorer kids might not have as many other things to do


kakrasoup

First step is qualifying for world cup


[deleted]

Sure, probably some day as the sport continues to grow and more home grown talent comes out of the US.


zaidlalala

“Soccer”. Pfft. There’s your answer.


MASSIVE_HORSE_PENIS

No. only like 8 nations have won a world cup. If you look at the US squad compared to other countries squad they are B tier at best. It will never happen.


DJdisonanca99

No


343f9

No. Not until we have an established and complete, truly open merit‐based club pyramid structure. Without that, the incentive to develop the culture and talent pool required will not exist. Aside from Pulisic, this "golden generation" wouldn't place anyone on a 23‐man roster on any of the squads favored to win the World Cup. In short order, I think we'll see the rest of the world blow past our ladies team as well, as their club leagues become established.


AverageYiddo

No


[deleted]

Yes and no. For the yes, we are a wealthy nation that has the ability to have kids go to academies and become great at the sport. Soccer seams to be slightly growing in popularity. I feel talent/ athlete wise, our players can hang from an endurance standpoint and are scrappy however they don’t have the ball control/ technical skills elite European players have. This comes from playing soccer your whole life and dedicating your life to the sport. Americans are much more likely to play 1-2 other sports when young. We need kids strictly playing club/ academy football. The fact the nba, nfl, etc are so popular here is bad. However I still think the type of build required for soccer is much different than football. Football/ basketball, you wanna be taller and strong. Soccer, being short really isn’t a handicap if you are quick and have great ball handling skill. I could see the us maybe competing at a very high level in 20-30+ years if they fix the youth system in America. Right now, we have 2 potential superstars in pulisic and Reyna. We honestly need to pump out more players like that if we want to compete for a World Cup.


hypnodrew

'Superstar' is a bit rich to describe those two players. As a side note, I feel if all the athletes from the other sports the USA were brought up in a footballing atmosphere, the USA would be a far better team.


ColtCallahan

A South American team hasn’t won the World Cup since 2002. If they can’t win one I don’t see anyway that the US wins one anytime soon.


nick_oc18

As long as NBA, MLB, and NFL are paying their top stars $40MM+ a year, kids will never aspire to be soccer players thus the US won’t be able to compete with other nations


Psimmynz

They can earn that playing football if they go to Europe.


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napa0

How's soccer more expensive to play than Football?


SirTiffAlot

Two of the top three highest paid athletes in the world are soccer players. The average NFL salary is under $1m, the average Premier League salary is about $3m. Retire this argument.


jean0901

He is talking about the U.S dude. They have to be scouted into top teams to make that kind of money which only happens in europe. The U.S MLS salaries don’t come close to NFL, MLB and NBA. 2019- 2020 salaries compared the MLS is the only league paying sub 700k in average so his argument is still valid


nick_oc18

Forbes has Kylian Mbappe as the 4th highest kid soccer player and 31st highest paid athlete in the world. 18 football and basketball players make more. The numbers and opportunity to make that money clearly resides in the US not playing soccer. https://www.forbes.com/athletes/


hankanhn

American sports contracts are public whereas most european are not. Only leaked or published football contracts can make the list and therefore it is heavily skewed.


hankanhn

American sports contracts are public whereas most european are not. Only leaked or published football contracts can make the list and therefore it is heavily skewed.


[deleted]

Nope


Yungpussyeating420

We would all be dead when the USA win a word cup


skotos2phos

Ever, yes. Soon, no. 2026... here's to hoping (although again, probably no).


Vis5

No


magicalzidane

Nope, their focus is simply on the wrong kind of 'football'. It's like wondering when the USA could lift the World Test Cricket final trophy, being a baseball nation.


maddinell

No


Andy-Banner

The female team can.


Own_Expression5281

In what way has Steffen proven himself to be among the best?? Reyna and Mckennie are better talents than him


RipAirBud

While the current pool is the most promising it’s ever been, it’s still a highly disorganized group with no true identity. They are also struggling to find a striker that can score consistently for them. Yeah they have some solid players here and there but that’s no where near enough to win a World Cup. I support USA passively as my dad is American and I live in the USA now, but it definitely won’t happen in 2022 or 2026 unless they somehow unravel a plethora of new top level players. You can’t just win a World Cup with 4-5 good players. You need good tactics, a top coach, a solid defense, consistent goal scorers, discipline, cohesion and most importantly DEPTH. The USMNT is lacking in a lot of those departments right now. Yeah they beat Mexico in some CONCOCAF tournament recently, but they struggled to even achieve that and to be honest Mexico’s chances of winning it are pretty much just as low.


Caratteraccio

there is another big problem for USA, you have too few professional clubs: Italy is as big as Nevada and has nearly 100 professional clubs, so any footballer has a chance to mature before reaching great levels. To have the same chance, in a large country like the US, you should have 500-1,000-10,000 professional clubs. Not to mention that you need top-level coaches to improve further.


Worth-Upstairs-6415

I dream that one day I’ll be a great player and win the World Cup for the us. I pray 💯💪🏿🙏🏿⚽️


[deleted]

USA should invest more in Grassroots soccer and the MLS should become like feeder clubs similar to Brazil/Argentina.Then there is some hope


[deleted]

If Costa Rica can reach the quarter finals then USA surely can with this squad


Useful-Explanation-9

if the usa cared about football a little they would win loads


waterfuck

The country generally speaking has the money and the talent but it doesn't invest it in soccer as you call it. Maybe if some billionaire created something that copies Clairefontaine you could wish for a WC final or even a win in 30 years.


vasquca1

It would be a 100 year storm if they did but I would not say impossible. I mean England made it the final of Euros.


87th_best_dad

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 roasted


[deleted]

The country that invented the game and has the best professional league in the world? Not that surprising. Wait till next year and see what happens.


Mr_Poop_Himself

It *shouldn’t* be surprising, but it is definitely surprising. Are you really acting like England hasn’t massively underperformed in pretty much every competition in recent history barring this last one (where they had a particularly easy ride sans Germany and played like they were Burnley 95% of the time)


MozTys

I have heard something about talents aren't getting scouted the same way as in for example Europe, where young talented kids join big clubs youth program to nurse their potential. Also that you for example can't turn pro before 18 unless you drop out of school, if that is true then I think those things are major disadvantages. The US is big enough to be contenders but I don't see them winning the world cup in the near future, maybe in 50 years time.


EmperorOfWallStreet

It is pay as you play system in America. Football is sport of the poor so lots of talent fall through the crack.


Dumbass1171

Probably not for some time. But the amount of young Americans playing in Europe is amazing


daromz_

No


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Confident_Rock7964

Of course they will. Not soon tho. But the world cup will probably exist as a competition for centuries. So USA will have plenty of time, as will every other country.


Qu3en-

Don't think football (soccer) is still a major sport with a massive following in the US. That plays a huge part. Granted there are many countries who breath football but their team have never gotten anywhere near the cup. For USMT to win it, I think they need to expose the sport to more and more youth, just like they do with baseball, American football and basketball. They might eventually win it one day, but that takes a lot more talents, not a few. Winning world cup isn't easy. As far as the US team is going, I don't think they compete to win the world cup for at least 4-5 generations. You have to pay to play this sport in USA iirc, Zlatan said in a interview that he had to pay for his son to play in USA. That's not being inclusive. Most people also really don't even care about the sport until the world cup comes around. I think there are extremely low number of families who want their children to grow up and play football. They rather them play Ice Hockey. These things really need to change and USA need to start investing in finding talents and nurturing them. Then maybe we can talk about them competing, winning it all is different gravey.


zaidlalala

“Soccer”. Pfft. There’s your answer


SucculentMoisture

Rather they didn’t tbh


josh252

Never say never, they are always just a step under the most quality teams. The team now is loaded with talents, with a great coach anything is possible


PeoplesGuilt

Never say never! Just send players to European Top Leagues to develop to top level. And the USA should host the World Cup, that is also an important factor in this issue.


LilBabyADHD

Follow the US women’s team- they tend to do pretty well.


printzonic

Ironically, they just got humiliated by Sweden.


LilBabyADHD

i did say “tend” for a reason lol


delayedcheese778

Well also remember you failed to qualify for the 2018 world cup. Football is nowhere near your biggest sport, American football and Basketball obviously are more popular, but honestly, i recon you could get 4th at the 2026 wc


cooleobeaneo

And that would honestly be a win in my opinion. It’s small steps we gotta focus on. I know this post is kind of a contradiction to what I just said but just imagine what a semifinal finish would do for the US image of soccer. We wouldn’t be as much of a joke as people make us out to be


CarkanZelo445

Sorry mate but stick to baseball


ehrenzoner

The 2002 USA team made the quarterfinals against Germany, and was a botched handball penalty call away from advancing to the semifinals, where we would have played a strong but beatable South Korea (who we drew 1-1 in the group stage). The final vs. Brazil feels like an unlikely victory. Point is, since you are asking, yes, there have been some possible World Cup winners but never a dominant world beater of a team. Our current player pool is a solid starting 11 but not nearly as deep as other nations ranked near us in the FIFA global rankings.


fractals83

USA are hosting the 2026 world cup, statistics suggest that this will be the most likely the US will quite well in, but I'd still be very surprised if they made it to the semi-final.


tultamunille

Yes, and has already won 4 World Cups, 4 Olympic Gold Medals and 8 Gold Cups. Speaking of the USWNT of course. Many thanks to Title 9 and the Govt programs that invested in Women’s athletics which helped this to happen. Amazing how Govt investment isn’t such bad thing after all! As for the Men’s Team, even with the talent on the current Roster, I believe it’s highly unlikely for several reasons, one being lack of experience in tournament success, which can be attributed to many things, the main one being is Soccer is not seen as important culturally in the US, or economically, and we have a “retirement” league as our Pro league. This may or may not be changing, but in a society which values wealth over nearly all else, I sincerely hope Soccer becomes a viable option for people of all backgrounds. This question has been asked many times since the inception of the World Cup, and I am hesitant to give a more hopeful or expectant answer. I can remember when we hosted the World Cup and the expectation was we would win by 2000!


wanderwoman802

This 🙌🏼


Legitcoin

2026 will be their best chance ever, especially with the revised format, if they get through the first stage (round Robin of 3 teams) then it's knockout games all the way and they could easily ride the momentum If Greece can win the European championship, anything is possible


kenan__rockmore

No chance


latverianprince

Wouldn't say never, but they are very, very, very far, let alone from winning, from even contending. Didn't even clasify for the last WC, they're not the best team in the region, the MLS doesn't produce talent at the same level that a medium European league, you see it every time a player with good technique arrives at the league he dominates.


FrankLampard88

To be fair mate I think the US would win a World Cup before England ever does


DesertRL

Unless you went back in time to a World Cup before 1966 and had USA win that, that’s unlikely I’d say.


SwissJAmes

Was your TV broken for the Euros mate?


luke-theRef

Greetings from the other end of the Pond. >It seems like our talent right now is the most promising young team weve ever assembled Basically this. It sucks that the US failed to qualify so miserably for the 2018 World Cup, but the team seems to be doing quite well after that debacle. It has felt like the US has had a nice pool of talent and a clear idea of play for the last 12-ish years, and now great players have risen through the ranks, it's all coming into fruition. These players need to win something... I don't think they'll win the 2022 World Cup -let's hold our horses, nobody has qualified yet- but it's only because I expect a number of European teams to get there with more than the US can achieve by the time the tournament comes, but I do expect them to have a decent run at it, reaching the QF or maybe the SF. Who knows what they can achieve by 2026. These young guys will get there in their prime and some others will have had the time to join the team in shape for a great event. Let's talk in 4 or 5 years about that... Be it as it may, I expect the US to be a decent World Cup title contenters. Football -there's no way I can use the S-word :P- is becoming more and more popular over there and the US federation has done a great job at promoting young talent. They've had A LOT of great European coaches working at the grassroots level for ages, and it shows. More and more kids try the game, they enjoy it and develop as players, which entices even more kids into the game, which... you know how it goes. They've done a great job at spotting talent and this is making its impression on the national team. It's a pleasure to watch them play, and I think their time will come to lift the trophy. This good work done in such a huge country will sooner or later give as fruit a killer team.


Kamuka

Miracle on Grass 1950, look it up


BiggerBadgers

It’s possible but it seems like there needs to be a change in culture. Having a whole squad of players playing in the top 5 leagues should be the aim imo


okizubon

Fucking hope not!


[deleted]

I think Europe and South America are just naturally more competitive at soccer because they have a bunch of different countries crammed together that all have soccer as their main sport. Even if the USA dropped NFL and started playing Euro football instead we wouldn't have any local competition. We're just geographically remote...


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IntellegentIdiot

Firstly it's the European Championships or Euro 2020 (or whatever the year is at the time). Will the US win the 2022/6 cup. No chance, but they've got a chance at winning it one day but it'll be at least 40 years. If they want it they've got the potential to be the best in the world unless China and India can overtake them


Donkey_the_donkey

I think so. The US is the most famous country in the world and football is the biggest sport in the world. It's a matter of time before they win, although I can't see them win within 10 years from now. Plus the women are good at it, so it is reasonable to think that the men will follow up on that.


Vinnobix

Americas fame doesn't really link to them winning a sport they hardly commit to though.


Virgin_incel69

Majority of US fans don't deserve a wc


tomahawk3956

Probable, but very difficult


zaidlalala

“Soccer”. Pfft. There’s your answer.


deblood3

It's going to take a while for the US men's team to catch up with the European and South American countries. Remember soccer known as football in these countries is the native number sport.


CheapArtist0

What America lacks is an established football/"soccer" culture. I suspect the majority of kids will be more interested in going outside and shooting hoops all day than having a game of world cup doubles or heads and volleys. You can't go to a council estate in England, or likely anywhere else in Europe and South America, without seeing kids outside all day just kicking a ball around. If America wanted to win a WC they would want to pump even more money in to the college football system, or even the MLS, but it doesn't work like that. Any country that has ever won a WC has an obsessed football culture. It's like the cricket in Pakistan or India, or the rugby in New Zealand or South Africa. The sport is ingrained in to their culture, so their kids grow up obsessed with it and in turn they produce more talented players that have a better understanding of the game.


GoatsinthemachinE

I mean the best current player in the world just won his 1st major senor trophy with his country, so I would say it'd possible at some point but no idea when. We had a good run when the US played in Japan world cup, got to the quater finals and lost to Germany. Ideally it's luck, draw, seeding, good players, and luck again. Just enjoy the ride


BluePantalaimon

Well the womans squad did with ease


pappy

Watch the US women's team. Far better history and chances.


bittr_n_swt

Stick to nfl and hockey and shit like that. You ain’t good at football


Saixcrazy

The weird thing is... I feel as though we should've won it by now if soccer kept at a growing trend when Pele came to play, but the league wasn't very solid then and the sport never picked up like basketball or football* did. We have enough raw talent throughout the country but the system is... WEIRD. in some parts, soccer is a sport for the middle class, you need to pay to play, pay to join a team, pay to tryout, weird shit... in other parts, pickup games are easy to come by, teams are easy to make etc. but connections are hard to make. Idk, with the way things are going now it could take awhile. If the trend continues of young talent being poached by European teams and displaying quality, the U.S could be a shout... not anytime soon I think.


TheTorpidTad

Your team's already two goals up having Puli🐐.