Emily Asper

USMNT players need to feel the wrath of the media and fans after this pathetic performance. Unworthy of a World Cup stage. This is not the time for moral victories. This is not the time for kumbaya. This is not the time to celebrate how this team brought people together. If you applaud this mediocrity, you only condone mediocrity. Call them out, from the president of the federation to the goalkeeper. And EVERYONE in this team. Especially the poster boy of this group: Christian Pulisic. He never asked to be the face of it all so why are we making him be that? He doesn’t lead. It doesn’t look like he wants to. And then chronically injured. You can’t be Captain America if you can’t carry the weight of the shield. And he’s not the only one, by the way. You can point to a lot of the guys yesterday who weren’t up to the task. Chose whoever. Pulisic just happened to be the face of it all. Every World Cup elimination we sit with our head in our hands asking questions about pay-to-play, what if our best athletes, did we take the right players, when are we going to make it? This is the main reason we’re being held back. It’s nothing you don’t know: Football in the US is institutionalized and corporatized. It’s a business first and then comes soccer. ACROSS the board. From US Soccer who prices out fans for ugly friendlies. To MLS’s closed system that rewards mediocrity. To clubs and academies that make it difficult for families to have their kids play soccer. It’s all wrong. It was great in 1994 when we needed something to get up and running. But now we’re on the wrong trajectory. And our complacency will never redirect course. Be disappointed, be angry. Call them out. Don’t reward this. You shouldn’t be feeling anything else. If not, we’ll never progress.