Why it’s OK that we didn’t learn much from the U.S. World Cup roster reveal
Every four years, America gets an opportunity to show how far we’ve come as a soccer nation. What the 26 men assembled by U.S. Soccer on Tuesday will prove is still very much a wait-and-see.
So what did we learn from Tuesday’s U.S. men’s national team’s World Cup roster reveal?
Not much.
OK, that’s not entirely true. We learned that Fox can teach a master class in manufacturing hype around something — they turned the 26-player reveal, which took around 13 minutes (we counted), into a three-hour event.
We learned that the Guardian was correct when it leaked the complete roster on Friday, and, at The Inquirer, we learned that we have invaluable sources in the soccer world.
Other than that, there wasn’t much more to be excited about.
But here’s why that’s OK. In fact, some might argue that it’s the best part.
Because on Tuesday, when U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino (the USMNT “boss,” in his words) assembled what he believes are the 26 best soccer players America has to offer, not much changed in predicting what’s to come when the World Cup kicks off in just a few days.
Before the reveal, Opta Analyst statistics gave the United States a 32.83% chance of emerging out of Group D and just a 1.33% chance of making it to the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Those odds moved only slightly after yesterday’s reveal, with the U.S. now at a 33.07% chance of moving on to the knockout stage, but a 1.32% chance of playing in the final.
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But real ones know that when up against some of the other power nations heading to North America for the tournament, the U.S. has about as much chance at making it to the World Cup final as gas dropping back under $3 a gallon.
The U.S. isn’t making the final. Deep down, even its most passionate supporters know that. There’s an argument that its supporters can’t even envision that far ahead. What do they want? What any soccer devotee in America wants.
For this 26-man collective to at least make it interesting.
For us locally, there’s an added incentive of following the four Philly-area players who cracked the roster. Goalkeeper Matt Freese (Wayne), midfielder Brenden Aaronson (Medford), and defenders Auston Trusty (Media), and Mark McKenzie (Bear, Del.). Regarding McKenzie, some Inquirer reporters joked that we didn’t even know where Bear, Del., was on the map until McKenzie’s call-up — perhaps showing that we need to get out of the city more.
For those also wondering, it’s about a 50-minute drive from Philadelphia. But it’s less than a 30-minute drive to Chester, where all four of these players grew up in the Union’s academy system and played for the first team in various capacities. All have found success in Europe, raising the eyebrows of Pochettino, and all will now represent the country on home soil.
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That’s extremely exciting. But we’re getting off track …
Do you remember the 2010 team that competed in South Africa? No one thought highly of that group either, and their run to the round of 16 might have been one of the best by an American group in recent memory. Remember Landon Donovan’s goal against Algeria in the group? The one that’s etched in national team lore? That’s the World Cup.
This reporter is old enough to vividly recall the U.S. Soccer’s run to the quarterfinals in the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, when the U.S. beat Portugal and tied host South Korea to emerge from Group D and then proceeded to beat mighty Mexico, a favorite at the time, 2-0, to make it into the quarterfinals for the just the second time in World Cup history. That’s the World Cup.
Every four years (assuming they qualify), the United States gets a chance to show how far we’ve come as a soccer nation. In this current group, a majority play (and feature) for top European clubs. Eight players on this current roster hail from Major League Soccer.
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The work began quickly as the players departed their coming-out party on Pier 17 in Brooklyn and boarded a plane for Atlanta, where camp began Wednesday ahead of tuneup matches against Senegal on Sunday (3:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62) in Charlotte, N.C., and against Germany on June 6 (2:30 p.m., TNT Telemundo 62) in Chicago.
Those games should show fans a good deal about what the U.S. is bringing to the table, but don’t necessarily speak to what they can and will do in the World Cup. The others in their group, one that features Paraguay (June 12), Australia (June 19) and Turkey (June 25) arguably offer the Americans the best chance to move on to the round of 32.
Even after yesterday’s reveal on the banks of the Hudson River, finding someone who expects this group of Americans to move mountains would be rare. But as history has shown in past World Cup appearances, perhaps that’s once again the best place for them to be.
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly. Click here for more.
