The U.S. men's soccer team failed to deliver in a big way at the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, getting blown out in the Round of 16, losing to Belgium, 4-1.
The 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, held in North America, was supposed to be a coming out party of sorts for U.S. Men's Soccer. The American men, who failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2018 but advanced to the Round of 16 in 2022, had hopes of at least reaching the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, the likes of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKinnie and Tyler Adams failed to deliver when it mattered most.
© Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Pulisic and Co. were meant to be part of a "Golden Generation" of U.S. male soccer players, surpassing everything that Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and others have done.
But that hasn't happened.
So, what's the issue?
Everyone seems to be pointing at one thing - the high cost to play soccer in the U.S.
In places like Europe and South America, soccer players are recruited at a very young age to start playing at various academies and teams, in which they're potentially even being paid.
But, in the U.S., parents are forced to shell out thousands of dollars per year, so their 7 and 8-year-olds can play soccer.
It's not a healthy way to develop soccer talent.
"Why can't the USA have a dominant soccer team? Look how much it costs to play under 9 soccer for my local team. My parents didn't pay even ten percent of this in total for 8 years of me playing as a kid in Ireland," one fan noted.
Another fan added: "Top clubs cost even more. This also doesn’t even take into account the cost of traveling (flights, gas, hotel, food), tournaments, training, showcases etc. Soccer is expensive."
"Club soccer is $5k plus travel, coaching fees, best Nike jerseys, warm ups, bag, shoes, cleats, outside classes and instruction because heaven forbid the clubs we pay into give proper coaching, instruction, skills training, mentorship or any leadership. I could go on and on," another parent added.
"It's ridiculous," another added.
Landon Donovan agrees.
“Only 2% of kids playing organized soccer in America came from households that made less than $50,000," he's explained.
“If you don’t make $50,000, your kid cannot play organized soccer. Think about how many kids you’re missing out on in this country because they can’t afford to play the game. There is zero chance I could have played club soccer. My mom made $34,000 a year, single mom raising three kids. She couldn’t pay $4,000 for me to play club. Are you kidding? She couldn’t pay $400. That’s not a good system to create good players.”
It's something that needs to be fixed.
