Tuesday night will forever me remembered as a dark moment in the history of United States men’s soccer.
The USMNT was eliminated from 2018 World Cup qualifying Tuesday after a 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago. That loss, combined with Honduras beating Mexico 3-2 and Panama beating Costa Rica 2-1, sealed the United States’ fate from the CONCACAF region.
This is the first World Cup the U.S. has missed since 1986.
There’s no excuse for the United States failing to qualify for a World Cup when Mexico is the only upper-tier soccer nation in CONCACAF. Poor coaching, poor performance by the players and many other reasons are to blame. It’s a complete failure by the entire organization. Major changes are needed to get US Soccer back on track.
The 2018 World Cup will take place in Russia next summer.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images