US Soccer out of "World Cup" ... after losing to Trinidad & Tobago

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**JohnHwangDD**

This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

Are the Trinidad and Tobago teams soccer powerhouses to defeat America's best?

**sebster**

JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

Are the Trinidad and Tobago teams soccer powerhouses to defeat America's best?

Why was World Cup in quotes?

**Ouze**

JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

no

**motyak**

Qualifying pool practically dedicated to getting the US through and they trip over the 1cm step. Beautiful stuff. I say this as an Aussie, whose team baaaaaarely scraped in and will be inevitable knocked out of the group stage.

**fresus**

JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

We got used to seeing Team USA at the world cup, and actually doing pretty well, especially given the lack of world-class player.
As Motyak said, the qualifying pool really favors the US, as it's a relatively weak pool with 3 qualifying spots. It's a bit unfair, especially compared to South America, so they can only blame themselves for not qualifying.

I was in the US during the 2014 World cup, and was actually amazed by the amount of support there was for the team. Most people I was hanging out with knew about (and often watched) the games, even if they didn't watch any soccer outside of the world cup (or knew the exact rules for that matter). I believe it has more to do with supporting a national team at an international event than it has to do with the sport itself.

**Cream Tea**

I'm guessing World Cup is in quotes because it was the qualifier, not the Cup itself.

Interest for sports waxes and wanes with the successes of local and national teams. The US normally cares more about American football, baseball, basketball and hockey, but when their football team does well internationally they start cheering for them as well. Now, they'll mostly ignore the sport for a while.

There's nothing strange about that.

**Do_I_Not_Like_That**

sebster wrote:
JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

Are the Trinidad and Tobago teams soccer powerhouses to defeat America's best?

Why was World Cup in quotes?

Fear not Seb, Australia are still in with a chance of making it.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ouze wrote:
JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

no

You should care. A world cup in Russia, and Iran will be there. Are you not afraid that Iran and Russia will use this as cover to plot against the USA? With Panama being used to hide the money in its banks?

Automatically Appended Next Post:

JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

Are the Trinidad and Tobago teams soccer powerhouses to defeat America's best?

It's times like this that I realise what a cunning genius D-USA actually is. Obviously, he wants America to do well, but he always has the fall back option of Germany to count on

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Anyway, I can't really laugh, because Scotland failed to qualify

USA, I share your pain

**sebster**

Cream Tea wrote:
I'm guessing World Cup is in quotes because it was the qualifier, not the Cup itself.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.

Interest for sports waxes and wanes with the successes of local and national teams. The US normally cares more about American football, baseball, basketball and hockey, but when their football team does well internationally they start cheering for them as well. Now, they'll mostly ignore the sport for a while.

There's nothing strange about that.

Yeah, it's one reason that any sport looking to grow will put a lot of emphasis on a successful national team.

**jouso**

JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

I happened to be in the US back when they had a good run at the Brazil WC. Coverage was more than decent.

Of course it helped that I was in Miami, but Univision seemed to be permanently covering the US prowess so at least the latino community does care.

Why the quotes on world cup tho? It's not like the world series, this is an actual world cup

**soundwave591**

I care a minimal amount, I want to get more into football but the viewing for it is such a pain in the US from my experience. I still remember the game that eliminated them last go around, watched in a chilies and the entire store was actually following the game with cheers and groans.
kinda sucks that the "local" team wont be in it this year.

**djones520**

Ouze wrote:
JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

no

Bingo.

It's hockey season. There is no other sport.

**Blackie**

JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

Are the Trinidad and Tobago teams soccer powerhouses to defeat America's best?

In a single game you can win or lose against anyone, that's one of the best qualities of football. Of course the USA are way better than Trinidad & Tobago but it's not that unlikely that the most rated team loses against a lesser competitive opponent.

I don't think the majority of americans actually cares about that, in that country there are other sports that have a significant coverage, football is considered a sport for ladies. In Italy it's basically the only sport existing

USA out of the world cup is big for football fans, not big news since they're not even remotely competetive but they've always been part of the tournament since decades.

Netherlands, Bosnia, Chile, Wales, Czech Republic, Ghana, Camerun will be missed for the overall quality of the competition, not the USA.

Italy, Ivory Coast and Croatia are not qualified yet. The fact that we must achieve the qualification through play-offs after failing to win the group stage is already headline news here, being out of the world cup would be a "catastrophe".

**Frazzled**

JohnHwangDD wrote:
This is probably "big" news to those people who follow World Cup soccer, but do any Americans actually care?

Are the Trinidad and Tobago teams soccer powerhouses to defeat America's best?

Men's soccer?

Our Women's teams do well.

A significant portion in the southwest care and it is growing.

**Easy E**

Hey, in America we have Major League Soccer... so there must be some interest in soccer.

Sometimes, they even talk about it on the sports radio station in my region. They always have to defend why they are talking about it, but they talk about it!

**d-usa**

Soccer is getting more popular in the US every year.

With that said, the fact that the “do or die” qualifying game wasn’t shown on any of the networks, or even any of the usual sport channels, also speaks volumes.

The USMNT has long relied on old players, and people (coaches and fans) have been scared to give the young blood a shot. Whenever we try someone new and they don’t do spectacular in the one game we try them, they are gone and we are back to the old folks who are not great but consistent. We have a lot of great players, but they are getting up there in age.

I think that while it will hurt the popularity and perceived legitimacy of the game, not qualifying will end up being a good thing for the quality of the game in the US. It will give us a chance to bid farewell to a slew of players that should have been let go a while ago. And it will really open the roster for our younger players to make the move. Our U17-U23 teams have some good quality players, the academy system in the US is improving, and maybe MLS can get their head out of their ass and stop playing during international playing dates by then. But there are good players moving up the pipeline, and this is a good opportunity to clear those pipes.

Maybe we will also remember why we fired Bruce Arena to begin with.

**nfe**

Amusingly, one of the Panama goals that helped put the US out was never a goal in a million years. It would be on rotation on sports news if it was Spain or Brazil or whoever that went out, but although it's big news for a side who've been a WC constant since 86, no one actually cares that the US wont be there.

**fresus**

nfe wrote:
Amusingly, one of the Panama goals that helped put the US out was never a goal in a million years. It would be on rotation on sports news if it was Spain or Brazil or whoever that went out, but although it's big news for a side who've been a WC constant since 86, no one actually cares that the US wont be there.

Some argue the referee didn't give Panama a well deserved penalty kick, and therefore both mistakes compensate each other (although that's not really how things work).
More importantly, the president of Panama declared Oct 11th a national holiday to celebrate the qualification. So there's no competition about who cared the most about the game

**whembly**

Easy E wrote:
Hey, in America we have Major League Soccer... so there must be some interest in soccer.

Sometimes, they even talk about it on the sports radio station in my region. They always have to defend why they are talking about it, but they talk about it!

American soccer in youth leagues... all the way up to college soccer is popular by sheer numbers and distribution across the US.

MLS league (US professional league) has been growing steadily (albeit slower than anticipated) such that MLS may become a "Major Sports League™" like baseball/football in our life time.

**JohnHwangDD**

Soo.... if I summarize:

* Trinidad (and Tobago!) are what one would expect for a tiny nation's team

* the US soccer team is weak compared to what one would expect if the US actually were serious about soccer,

* to compensate for that, the organizers stack the deck in favor of the US (for TV viewership),

* US soccer fethed it up, anyways

* ... which is par for the course, as US soccer is poorly-managed

* not that it matters because concussionball and hockey are better sports.

OK, I'm good with that. Thanks!

**d-usa**

There is no setup on the organizers part.

The regional confederation just has Mexico, the USA, and Canada as actual “big” nations. And then a bunch of small nations competing.

Canada doesn’t seem to care much about soccer and it shows, which means that Mexico and the USA are usually the “auto” teams to qualify with one of the small teams also making the cut. But soccer is a cruel mistress. The US team isn’t weak, and has the potential for a quarter final appearance in any World Cup. Heck, qualifying for the World Cup is a pretty decent showing because only 32 (so far) teams out of 100+ even make it that far.

**feeder**

Why soccer when you can hockey? As a French philosoper once said, "Harder Better Faster Stronger"

**Galas**

I find always funny how, in comparison with the rest of the world, USA cares little for soccer (Or as the rest of the world call it, football

)

In Europe the "Sport" sections of the news channels is always "Football and if something big like one of our guys or girls won a world tournament, we'll give them 2-3 minutes"

**Grey Templar**

Soccer is the second most boring major sport to watch, beaten only by golf. I honestly don't understand the hype people get into about the game, they're total snooze fests where maybe 2-3 goals get scored per game total and other than that it's a bunch of running around the field uselessly passing the ball back and forth. Announcers practically hyperventilating over a few passes or the occasional fight over absolutely nothing. I swear they must be on crack and speed to find any of that exciting.

I can see maybe it would be fun to play Soccer and it's good exercise, but watching it is utterly uninteresting.

**Prestor Jon**

JohnHwangDD wrote:
Soo.... if I summarize:

* Trinidad (and Tobago!) are what one would expect for a tiny nation's team

* the US soccer team is weak compared to what one would expect if the US actually were serious about soccer,

* to compensate for that, the organizers stack the deck in favor of the US (for TV viewership),

* US soccer fethed it up, anyways

* ... which is par for the course, as US soccer is poorly-managed

* not that it matters because concussionball and hockey are better sports.

OK, I'm good with that. Thanks!

No, the World Cup qualifications aren't deliberately stacked to favor the US for tv viewership. World Cup qualifications are based on geographic regions. The US' region, North America, central America and the Caribbean doesn't have much competition for the US and Mexico on a regular basis but that's not because FIFA is trying to rig things for tv ratings it's just a matter of geography.

https://www.thoughtco.com/world-cup-qualifying-3557167

How Teams Qualify for Soccer's World Cup
The process is divided by FIFA’s six confederations — Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Central America and the Caribbean, Oceania, and South America — with each region having its own system to select which nations will represent it at the World Cup.

Africa
The African zone uses two rounds to whittle the number of teams qualifying for the third round to 20 where they take part in a final qualifying round featuring five groups of four teams. Each group winner advances to the World Cup to give Africa a total of five representatives

Asia (AFC)
Two qualifying rounds are used to reduce the field to 12. Two groups of six are then formed, with teams playing each other home and away. The two group winners and the two runners-up qualify automatically for the World Cup.
The third-placed teams from each group square off in a home-and-away series with the winner advancing to the playoff with the winner of the Oceania zone.

Europe (UEFA)
The European zone alone includes 52 teams competing for 13 slots in the finals. It is also separated into two rounds. The first consists of seven round-robin, home-and-away groups of six teams as well as two round-robin, home-and-away group of five teams.

Each of the nine group winners qualifies automatically for the World Cup. The best eight runners-up, as determined by points totals, advance to the second round.
In round two, the eight teams are paired into four home-and-away series decided by aggregate goals, with the winners advancing to the tournament.

North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
This is by far the most complicated region with four rounds of qualifying to whittle down 35 teams to three or four slots. With several sets of small group stages and home-and-away knockout matches, it heavily favors the region’s powerhouses like the United States and Mexico.
Qualifying culminates with a single six-team, home-and-away group from which the top three teams go to the World Cup. The fourth-placed team can still qualify, but it faces a home-and-away tie with the fifth-placed side from the South American region.

Oceania
The Oceania region uses the tournament at the South Pacific Games to determine which countries will compete for its single slot in the World Cup. The top three finishers at the South Pacific Games, along with one pre-seeded side, form a four-team group in the second stage of qualifying.
The winner of that group will earn a two-game playoff against the fifth finisher in the Asian Zone for a place in the World Cup.

South America (CONMEBOL)
The South American contingent at the World Cup is determined by a single 10-team league, in which each side plays everyone else twice. The top four qualify automatically and the fifth-placed nation faces a playoff against the fourth finisher from the North, Central America, and Caribbean Zone.

**JohnHwangDD**

Prestor Jon wrote:
JohnHwangDD wrote:
* the US soccer team is weak compared to what one would expect if the US actually were serious about soccer,

* to compensate for that, the organizers stack the deck in favor of the US (for TV viewership),

No, the World Cup qualifications aren't deliberately stacked to favor the US for tv viewership. World Cup qualifications are based on geographic regions. The US' region, North America, central America and the Caribbean doesn't have much competition for the US and Mexico on a regular basis but that's not because FIFA is trying to rig things for tv ratings it's just a matter of geography.

https://www.thoughtco.com/world-cup-qualifying-3557167

North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
This is by far the most complicated region with four rounds of qualifying to whittle down 35 teams to three or four slots. With several sets of small group stages and home-and-away knockout matches, it heavily favors the region’s powerhouses like the United States and Mexico.

Dude, you just said the deck is stacked.

**feeder**

It's stacked by virtue of geography, not gerrymandering.

**d-usa**

That’s like saying that Europe is stacked in Germany’s favor because Germany happens to be located in Europe. Mexico and the USA just have the biggest pool of potential players as well as the most resources to spend on the national teams. That’s why they are always favors to advance, not because the confederation is stacked in their favor.

There is probably a valid argument to reallocate the number of teams each region can send to the Finals, and I think that CONCACAF should probably get a permanent 4th spot instead of the 3.5 we have now.

**Avatar 720**

Yeah, the key-word in Prestor's post was "deliberately".

Besides, I'm sure Central American teams would much prefer being bundled with the US and Mexico than half the teams in South America. If overcoming the US marks a challenge, imagine how they'd feel knowing they had to conquer the likes of Brazil, Argentina, or Uruguay.

**John Prins**

Soccer is the #5 major league sport in the USA. Basically, if someone has athletic talent, they get funneled into baseball, basketball or football, or maybe hockey.

The only reason the USA has had any success in Soccer is because it's got over 300 million people to pick from. Most other nations in the world rate Soccer #1 and it shows, a nation of 15 million can put out a competitive team.

Canada generally funnels top talent into Hockey.

**d-usa**

John Prins wrote:
Soccer is the #5 major league sport in the USA. Basically, if someone has athletic talent, they get funneled into baseball, basketball or football, or maybe hockey.

The only reason the USA has had any success in Soccer is because it's got over 300 million people to pick from. Most other nations in the world rate Soccer #1 and it shows, a nation of 15 million can put out a competitive team.

Canada generally funnels top talent into Hockey.

And recently, more of our successful national players came out of the academy system of other countries as well. Dual nationals who have a “fall back” option of playing for the US team if they don’t get selected by their other national team.