USMNT

Some big news coming out of UEFA Youth League Group F on Wednesday — perhaps the biggest UEFA Youth League Group F news we’ve ever presented on the hallowed pages of The18: In the group’s early match, 18-year-old American winger Konrad de la Fuente scored two great goals as Barcelona thumped Slavia Prague 4-0. Later in the day, Inter Milan responded to Borussia Dortmund’s early goal with four unanswered, but that Dortmund opener was scored by Youssoufa Moukoko.

The latest FIFA World Ranking has been released, and it comes as no surprise that the USMNT has taken a slight tumble. Any good grace that was earned with a 7-0 beatdown of Cuba was subsequently withdrawn following a nightmarishly disjointed performance against Canada, and the U.S. has fallen two places to a global ranking of 23.

Josh Sargent sprinted to the sideline, thinking his race had been run. Alas, even substitutions proved too difficult for the USMNT on Tuesday: The substitution board read 15, not Sargent’s No. 19; the striker was to suffer through the full 90, just like all the fans watching on TV.

On Wednesday morning, Canadian residents awoke to extensive coverage of the massive sporting news: Toronto had defeated Minnesota 4-2, the Habs lost to Tampa Bay 3-1, Winnipeg succumbed to Arizona 4-2, Calgary thumped the Flyers 3-1 and the Canucks battered the Red Wings 5-1. What’s more, Donald Trump had welcomed a heavy concentration of Canadians to the White House on Tuesday in the form of the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. 

Trump congratulated the Blues on the stock market being way up, an agriculture deal with China and a Mike Pence trip to Turkey.

In the end, the scoreline flattered the USMNT. 2-0 isn’t so bad, right folks? Just try and forget the fact that Canada hadn’t scored against the U.S. since 2007, let alone recorded a victory since 1985.

Is it a new low for the U.S.? For those with a longer memory than Twitter allows, it’s difficult to countenance that when remembering 2018 World Cup qualifying performances in San José and Couva, but it’s frightening to think that this is the rebuild — exactly two years and five days — since that entirely disheartening 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago.

France? Naw. England? Pshh. Brazil? As if. 

Want a favorite for the 2022 World Cup? Look no further than the United States men’s national team after it throttled Cuba 7-0 on Friday night. 

Any team that can score four goals in 13 minutes against the 178th-ranked team in the world has to be the frontrunner for the 2022 World Cup. That 3-0 loss to Mexico last month? That was just a meaningless friendly, nothing compared to the intense rigor of a Concacaf Nations League match. 

In 1999, the USMNT was coming off a miserable showing at the 1998 World Cup in which it finished dead last. It was a dark time for U.S. soccer fans, but the following year showed reason for hope with the performance from a bunch of then-unknown kids on the U-17 USMNT at the U-17 World Cup in New Zealand.

Now the USMNT is again coming off a miserable couple of years having failed to qualify at all for the 2018 World Cup, and 20 years later the U-17 USMNT might give fans a reason to believe the country is heading in the right direction.

Gregg Berhalter’s statements on a radio show last week were “nearsighted, shortsighted and selfish,” according to Hope Solo. 

The former USWNT World Cup winner and perhaps the best goalie in the history of the game was on beIN SPORTS discussing recent comments made by the USMNT coach in regard to player development.

After three straight matches as an unused substitute, Christian Pulisic made his first Premier League appearance since Aug. 31 when coming on in the 80th minute of Chelsea’s 4-1 victory over Southampton on Sunday. 

The bad news for Pulisic is that the players above him in the pecking order all played well: Mason Mount scored a goal; Callum Hudson-Odoi and Willian picked up assists. The good news for Pulisic is that he made the most of his 10 minutes on the pitch.

The European transfer window has been closed for 31 days now, which is just enough time for layman to speak in absolutes. Of course we’re primarily talking about 21-year-old American Christian Pulisic, who had a solid game and an assist versus Norwich back on Aug. 24 before his career was ended by not making the 18 against Lille yesterday.

It doesn’t matter that wide attacking players like…