The US Men's National Teams 2014 World Cup Performance

Team USA had a fun, but disappointing run at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Some people are casting the tournament as a success because the Men's team made it out of the group of death (Germany, Portugal, and Ghana). The argument is that the USA went up against some of the big boys of the soccer world and lived to tell about it. I don’t view it this way.

The team showed stout defense and a never say die attitude against some of the toughest opponents in the world. The played exciting matches and got US fans hearts pumping. They definitely raised the country's collective soccer passion a few notches. The Portugal game alone probably caused enough American hairs to be pulled out to keep Bosely Hair Transplant in business for another 50 years. However, the excitement level caused by a single game or tournament is not what Americans should be judging  soccer success on.  We have grown past that. We should be competing for championships, not settling for the participation trophy.  Tying for ninth (if you don’t consider Goals For and Goals Against) isn't good enough for a rich and sports crazy country with 316 million people. Tying for ninth is a disappointment.

Our team should have performed better at the World Cup. Against Ghana we were sloppy and beaten in every aspect of the game but the scoreboard (I know, the only one that really counts). Against Portugal we played at a world class level only to make too many stupid amateur mistakes at the very end of the game and finish with a draw. Against Belgium we failed to put together any semblance of an offensive attacked and if not for Tim Howard's other worldly performance in goal would have gotten massacred. Our team needs to be better.

I know others are claiming the strikers were the biggest problems, but I think the biggest area for improvement is the offensive midfield. Before the tournament began, Michael Bradley was argued to be the best player on the men's squad by several soccer minds. During the tournament he struggled to control the ball, he struggled to distribute to the right man at the right time, and he played like crap. Bradley may be the excellent world class player the sport's experts claimed, but he certainly didn't look it during the tournament. I don't want to pile on anyone players to much, especially in a sport that is as much of a team game as soccer, but Bradley's lack of success was the biggest reason for our team's struggles and eventual ousting.

Despite the failure in 2014, there is obvious reason to be optimistic for the USA's future (and this is why so many people see Brazil as a success). Although this lack of individual success during the 2014 World Cup was bad, Bradley is only 26. He should have at least one more World Cup in him. A player of his purported greatness shouldn't fail twice. Additionally, the USMNT has  several very young and very good players, such as Julian Green and DeAndre Yedlin, that we got to see just glimpses of during this tournament. Both should be even better in 2018. Finally, the popularity of soccer in this country is continuing to grow. The MLS is finding success at attracting and importantly developing better and better players. So, despite the disappointment of 2014, don't give up on the USMNT, just get ready for the next run, which looks to be even better.