ESPN
For as long as we can remember, we could never think of a time when the U.S. was seen as a football (soccer) threat. Even if they dominated almost every other sport on the international stage, and obviously, the USWNT dominated the world cup for the last four out of the eight WC tournaments, the men’s team never seemed to really take off.
The USMNT hadn’t qualified for the world cup in 36 years, and even when they did, they could barely make it out of the group stage. It was only in 2002 that the U.S. had a surprising run, making it to the quarter-finals. Even if that run was surprising, it didn’t seem like talent had anything to do with it.
The root of the problem was not all about the lack of talent, but it also had to do with a lack of passion for the sport. Most Americans would rather train becoming an NBA player or NFL player than train to play soccer.
Cincinnati, OH, USA
This lack of passion for the sport had to do with the fact that the USMNT couldn’t win and that the MLS wasn’t that interesting, having very mediocre talent. All that changed, however, when David Beckham decided to play for LA Galaxy, Beckham joining the MLS brought talent to the American Public that had never got the opportunity to watch on their own soil. This move also created a chain of events that led to many more stars going to the MLS, players like Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Andrea Pirlo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, and many more.
This sudden wave of stars taking their talents to the MLS brought a lot more attention to soccer in the United States. The USMNT started getting scouting more talented players, and the US population started to take the sport seriously. After years of difficulty even qualifying, the USMNT started to improve even if they didn’t qualify in 2018, the team was still young and improving. Although they didn’t qualify for the world cup the US started to improve, beating their rivals Mexico on multiple occasions and winning the CONCACAF LEAGUE OF NATIONS twice in four years of its existence.
This sparked a fire in the USMNT and it gave them hope for the world cup. Even in a tough group they managed to qualify for the round of 16 but had to face an incredible Netherlands team and barely just lost to them. This could have been seen as another disappointing performance, but rather it brought joy to US soccer fans and gave them hope for the future. They could see that the team was improving and that slowly but surely the USMNT would gradually move up the rankings and start winning more on the international stage.
If that wasn’t enough, the MLS managed to get the greatest player of all time, a player every football fan across the world has dreamed of becoming. This will most definitely turn more to the game and bring even more passion and inspiration for the next generation of American soccer fans.
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