Here We Go Again?: What to Make of World Cup Qualifying Round One

If you are a fan of The Office, or perhaps a casual GIF user, or have a child or sibling that is always texting in memes, then you are probably familiar with one of Michael Scott’s classic lines: “No doubt about it, I am ready to get hurt again.” In many ways, this line epitomizes the experience of the U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team fans.

Now, you may be thinking, that sounds a bit dramatic; but what true fandom doesn’t. However, even with the grain of salt that is inexplicable fanaticism, there is no doubt about it that the USMNT has caused some serious hurt.

In particular, I want to take you back to 2017. As a Junior in college, I remember sitting in the atrium of an academic building, laptop and notebook out, trying to study, but unable to take my eyes off my phone. On screen, was the last game of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. After a rollercoaster of a 24-month period, including major wins, major losses, coaching changes, roster changes, and controversial roster “ever-presents”, the U.S. had backed themselves into a corner, punched their way out, and earned control of their fate.

On October 10, 2017, the last game of qualifying, all the U.S. had to do to earn their spot in the 2018 World Cup, was to beat or tie a far inferior Trinidad and Tobago team that had lost eight of its previous nine games. With seasoned veterans, a coach with big results to his name, and a budding wonderboy in Christian Pulisic, there was an air of optimism around the sporting spectacle. On top of that the U.S. had beaten Trinidad once already a few months prior, 2-0. Shortly following kickoff, the optimism would fade.

The U.S. looked off from the get go. Slow, uninspired, and no real indication they respected this Trinidad team at all. It’s as if they knew they would win. 17 minutes into the game, they conceded an own goal. By halftime the deficit doubled to 2-0. A small glimpse of hope provided by Pulisic with a goal in the 47th minute would prove to be the only positive in the match for the U.S. The match finished 2-1. For 90 agonizing minutes, U.S. fandom reacted in real time to what they were seeing with anger, shame, disappointment, and sadness. Hurt.

For the first time since 1986, the U.S. failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. To add insult to injury, countries a fraction of a percentage of the United States’ size, had qualified.

I remember leaving that academic building and coming back to our soccer team apartment. The emotions, far deeper than any I have ever experienced as a fan. The soundtrack through the apartment consisted of Coldplay’s Fix You and Band of Horses Funeral, Johnny Cash’s rendition of Hurt, and F-bombs all around as the post match coverage continued on the projector.

Over the ensuing days and months, the match would be called the worst in U.S. soccer history by statisticians and pundits alike. Players were criticized for arrogance, lack of focus, passion and commitment. Bruce Arena, the head coach stepped down from his role. Many of the player’s never put on the U.S. shirt again.

That, was the last time the U.S. played a World Cup Qualifying match; for four years. The last memory of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying. The taste left in everyone’s mouth. That is, until one week ago today, when we kicked off our World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from the last time we’ve seen the U.S. play. In fact this summer alone the U.S. won the Nations League and the Gold Cup (two regional tournaments), with two almost entirely different 24-man rosters. That brings us back to Michael Scott.

With the hurt of 2017 still very salient for all, the excitement and optimism surrounding this new “Golden Generation” of players becomes more and more vigorous with each headline and bit of news. They are all young, successful at the club level, and show signs on the international stage of why we the fans should get excited. Why we should hope.

But the fact of the matter is everything they do, have done, and will do, will be judged secondly to how they perform in WCQ.

So as fans, we came into WCQ ready to be hurt again, but hoping not to be. Optimistic, but cautiously. Some emotionally vulnerable, others stoic and stern, not quite ready to openly invest emotionally with an unproven team.

Match one in El Salvador ended in a 0-0 draw. This was a tie that felt like a loss. Early on the U.S. dictated the run of play, only to squander chances and make the game more challenging than it needed to be. Per an old teammate of mine, “this looked like a Division Three soccer game.” It did.

There were moments of sloppiness and carelessness. There were moments of confusion and inattention. On several occasions it was very clear the thinking was not dynamic from the team. You would have thought every problem was a nail and every solution a hammer. The truth of it is if we could have recognized which problems were nails, and which were screws, or picked a better tool, there is no reason we should not have walked out of there with three points. Alas, game one, in a hostile road environment, all in all a point wasn’t terrible. That led us to game 2.

The second matchday, at home, against Canada, saw some of the same issues as the first match. There was a clear inability to create multiple scoring chances, and a lack of clinical finishing on the few chances we created. After going up 1-0 in the second half, we immediately gifted Canada the equalizer, again through a lack of focus and effort.

Still, like the first match, a point wasn’t the worst result, though we could have secured all three. However some major question marks arose, mainly about the head coach Gregg Berhalter. His tactics and team selection were both called into question, and fairly. This is the most dynamic and talented group of players the U.S. has ever had, so why can’t we produce more scoring chances and more goals. Similarly why does it feel like there is a lack of leadership and accountability on the pitch. Far too often we constructed our own downfall with silly mistakes and inattention to detail. All that being said, the main concern was coming away with 2 points from two games, when we should have secured at least three, potentially six. Especially with other teams in the table racking up points.

With 3 points absolutely needed and the metaphorical mortgage riding on this matchup (and potentially his job), away to Honduras, Berhalter made some drastic changes. Missing a few of the top players due to injuries, COVID, and team protocols, he switched formations and personnel. On paper, the team had some notable WCQ debutants, absences, and repositioned veterans. Pre-game there were mixed reviews. At least he recognized that something needed to change, but did he make the right changes? Only the game would tell. And tell it did.

If the 2017 game against Trinidad was the worst match, the first half against Honduras might have been the worst half I’ve ever seen. There was confusion with the formation, a lack of ownership from the players, no connection from front to back, and shambolic performances from individual players. By halftime the U.S. were down 1-0 to a self-inflicted goal, Honduras were dominating, and it seemed like the wheels had come off. The hurt was alive again, and growing stronger with every passing minute. Texts and tweets lit up cyberspace, “What a trash performance,” “These players need to be dropped ASAP,” “Berhalter out,” etc.

In response to the abysmal first half, Berhalter reverted back to his favored formation, and made three substitutions, including bringing off John Brooks, a world cup veteran and highly regarded center back, and Josh Sargent, a young, hot commodity attacking player. This was a ballsy roll of the dice. His second in 45 minutes. If this decision went sour like the starting line-up did, Berhalter would be on the thinnest ice imaginable and the team would have a mountain to climb to qualify.

Within moments his gamble paid off. The U.S. drew level three minutes into the second half. What’s more, one of the substitutes, Antonee Robinson, scored. As the game wore on, it started to feel like Honduras had gathered the momentum again, and the U.S. would have to fight to keep their sole point. That is until the 75th minute, when substitute Deandre Yedlin crossed the ball in to Ricardo Pepi who headed it into the top corner for the 2-1 lead. Pepi was one of the bold holdovers from Berhalter’s initial lineup to start the game. He is 18 years old, and this was his international debut. What’s more Pepi would assist a third goal in the 86th minute, and be involved in a fourth goal in the 93rd minute.

With a resounding second half, a 4-1 win, and three points secured, the fans and team alike can breathe a bit easier. We have five points and are in third place out of eight. The top three automatically qualify. That being said, this is not a “problem solved” scenario.

With all three games concluded, there were some major takeaways:

• Aside from the second half against Honduras, the attack for the U.S. was almost non-existent. There were few inventive moments, and of those even fewer clear cut scoring chances.

• Is Berhalter the right guy for this job. So far we have some decent results, but his brand of play is not convincing or exciting. His substitutions were good, but his initial decisions were not. What amount of blame and credit does he deserve?

• There are still major personnel questions. I came in hoping for several players to cement themselves as undroppable, and instead their performances saw many of them dropped. Additionally, some players who I had written off shone brightly when it was their turn to step up.

• The talent on this team does not compensate for their inexperience. It was abundantly clear this is the youngest USMNT ever. Whether it was moments where individuals tried to do too much, or the poor decision making in critical parts of the pitch, there is still a maturity level or two that this team is lacking. What’s more, you could tell many of them were shocked by the physicality and conditions of playing in CONCACAF WCQ. Complaining to the ref, and losing focus were just a few signs of this.

• Similarly, one last takeaway is that this team needs some leadership. The amount of mistakes, the lack of individual accountability, and the lack of a real voice to lead and steady the ship was apparent in every game. It feels like different guys take on this role as needed, but there is no real staple. Pulisic carries the armband and some of the leadership, but remember he is not flawless as a leader and was also part of the problem in the 2017 game. Additionally he is injury prone enough that we can’t expect him to always be around. This is evident when he subbed out against Honduras in the second half, the most trying 30 minutes of WCQ so far. John Brooks should be a great candidate for this role --- a seasoned USMNT veteran with World Cup experience. Yet, he had an awful three games and potentially lost his starting spot. Deandre Yedlin (another holdover from the 2017 team) similarly has loads of experience, but has question marks around his quality, decision-making, and commitment. One other indicator of this need for leadership is Weston Mckennie. Probably the second biggest name on the roster, and a player of huge importance, Mckennie was sent home for breaching the team’s rules. He already did that one other time with his club team. While we have more talent and depth than ever before, if we want to compete we need everyone on board, rowing the ship in the same direction. That requires leadership.

So with the first three games wrapped up, the four year wait over, and five points secured, the first round of qualifying can best be summed up by a tweet I saw earlier today. @jameshill writes: “I don’t feel happiness, just relief papering over a sense of trepidation. Some of that is just the way WCQ is. Some of that isn’t. These guys bailed out Gregg in the second half. But can he figure out how to get out of his own way by the next window? Eh.”

At least we don't feel hurt. Yet.