C.D.

I think we are closer to 15-20 depending on the day. We definitely made significant progress but it is hard to see because the rest of the world is improving at the same time. Talent gaps have compressed, especially with French, Spanish, English and Portuguese systems developing players and feeding them to these much smaller countries.

@ManagerTactical We are what we showed. There isn't a top 8 team that I think we are better than. We finished in the top 16. Getting technical we are better than Mexico, Canada and maybe a couple others in the 16. Puts USA at like 10th - 12th. It is who we are right now.

If the USMNT 🇺🇸 brings this roster to the 2030 World Cup then we have regressed and deserve a group stage exit.

@_robbym @sacsheriff Easy money. They know most of these people are middle class, law abiding citizens, which are the exact targets that will pay all of the fines. Gotta love the constant grind of the middle class. Never ends.

@sacsheriff Who cares about fireworks in suburban neighborhoods that can’t start a wildfire, why don’t you guys get the dangerous criminals off the streets?

THE SAXOPHONES ARE GETTING LOUDER! For those who chose to ignore the law, reality is about to get expensive. Investigations are underway, and those responsible for using illegal fireworks can expect citations of up to $10,000 per device.

@rpeterson2317 @COLINREESE @DrewPavlou Interesting

@cdmusing @COLINREESE @DrewPavlou 50%. The men and women agreed to split all prize money 50/50

Read the article and the way this works is that members of the US women’s team each apparently get like $260 K USD because the men’s team made the Round of 16 Even though they didn’t play

@mdrn_cnservativ @nytimes @TheAthletic No

@nytimes @TheAthletic How appropriate for the smug European’s the player pictured is an import from the Congo The best European player’s parents are from Cameroon and Algeria The US just needs to do a better job importing talent like Europe does I guess

From @TheAthletic: It’s time to admit the uncomfortable truth: The U.S. may never win a men’s World Cup. "This sport belongs to the world. We borrow it every few years," our columnist writes. "America is not built for the beautiful game." nyti.ms/4aGgrvA

Actually, we should aim to have elite level of competition in small regions or within states. That is the ultimate goal. He is right that we need to find a way to cut down on so much travel. I’m fine with regional championships and national tournaments once you make it, but no reason for regular season travel across the country.

@NobletStrength Yes if you want everyone to suck. That is absurdly national team regressive

Most of the discourse on how to combat pay to play is wrong and utopian. However, one method that could actually work is moving away from the travel teams model to a local leagues model to reduce travel expenses.

@onocigy1 @DrewPavlou You should have part of your paycheck withheld and distributed to women in your office. Sound good?

@DrewPavlou The womens team actually wins so yeah I’m alright with this

@rpeterson2317 @COLINREESE @DrewPavlou And what cut of that earnings does the usmnt get?

@COLINREESE @DrewPavlou The women normally make more than the men because theu advance further in their world cup

@ReclaimD1 This woman is not capable of making a single good decision is she? Time to grow up. The fact that she recorded this, watched it back, and still thought it was a good idea to post is even more shocking than the story.

Modern woman tells crazy story on how she got chlamydia from a 6’5 WH👱🏻TE guy that her friend introduced her to 👑

@king_htc @franklinleonard @DonteStallworth So what’s a league that is still high quality and true to their roots?

@franklinleonard @DonteStallworth None of those clubs are what they were. Completely lost there indentity because its a tourist league now. Local fans priced out of going. The tv broadcasters turned the league into disney land

It’s time, I need to pick a Premier League team! I’ve been locked into the World Cup since I was drafted in ‘02 and the global games from Copa to Euros to AFCON for over a decade Narrowed it down to: Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, or Man Utd. Who should I choose & why?

@MarkFrommage @AndrewVisnovsky Why don’t clubs partner with local high schools? This would allow for coaching consistency.

@AndrewVisnovsky 1. The ratio of pro soccer teams to youth soccer players math doesn’t work. Elon Musk would go broke after a few years. 2. HS soccer coaches are awful compared to other HS sports. Plus soccer requires a 10 month season (at least). Schools play 8-12 week seasons

1. The billionaires who own the professional teams that benefit from the free labor training. 2. Who do you think pays for the public university and high school sports that develop NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, and Olympic Athletes.

American’s don’t like the sport? Only ~40 million tuned in to the match on Monday. Each game of the World Cup sold out at exorbitant ticket prices. I’ve seen ncaa soccer playoff matches packed and high school playoff games sold out. At any level, if there is an exciting product on the field and people are aware of it, they will show up.

@cdmusing @HendrickD82 Technically, yes. But what is the incentive to do all of this when the sport does not generate the type of revenue, in this particular country, that would justify the investment? The core problem here is Americans simply don't like the sport enough to do what needs to be done.

America's two best players are Balogun and Tillman. What do they have in common aside from not being born in America? They were trained in Europe. Anthony Robinson, trained in Europe. Serginho Dest, trained in Europe. Giovanni Reyna, trained in Europe. Pulisic is their biggest star. Trained in Europe from 16. Weah trained in Europe from 14. America's development infrastructure is massively lacking. It's not about "athletes", it's not about "it's our 5th sport", it's about the lack of proper development infrastructure. The lack of high level coaching. The lack of pathways. The lack of proper academies.

Seems like a fairly easy problem to start to solve. Work to put a better product on the field. Americans love sports. If there is a fun, affordable option, seats will get filled. If it’s USL, they need better marketing. IMO more clubs need to pop up so every tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 city has a club to support. Have to force competition to MLS to force change.

@HendrickD82 The reason there is proper developmental infrastructure, lack of high level coaching, lack of pathways, and lack of proper academies is because soccer simply does not generate the $ in the USA that it does in Europe. That's the point.

@AdmiralBear01 @_nickmessenger Why can clubs not partner with local schools or school districts to maintain consistent training? They have the facilities already. The seasons are opposite. And it would allow for better talent evaluation. Seems like a simple option.

@_nickmessenger Middle schools and high schools already have soccer programs and nobody gives a shit because they don't develop respectable talent. Some competitive clubs do not let their players play for schools because the bad training and weak competition makes their players worse.

As much as I hate to agree with Alexi Lalas, he isn't wrong. "Get rid of pay for play" as a solution to U.S. Soccer's problems has two flaws: 1) MLS clubs' youth players already mostly aren't paying. 2) Soccer costs money and someone has to pay for it. If not parents, then who?

@Ninety4Ninety @rebekah_e_s Newcastle = Saudi money

@rebekah_e_s Chelsea- Old Money. Manchester United- Brats. Manchester City- New Money. Newcastle- Your Grandpa's goat. Arsenal- The kid that thinks he's better than everyone else. Liverpool- Humble but Spoiled. Everton/West Ham/Fulham- No one really minds him. Coventry- Haji Wright songs!

how do americans choose which premiere league team to support? ive watched arsenal play the most bc my friends + my cousin in england are supporters. but how do some wind up supporting like…west ham? aston villa? crystal palace?

@BlueNOrange1 @Hutton_Sharp Rec league needs more competent coaches. It is the easiest place to start.

@Hutton_Sharp I think we can skip elementary since the rec league isn't the issue. Its the crazy expensive jump when the kids turn 11 and can play club

Okay, here's how I'd do it: 1. Add soccer to all elementary/middle/high schools 2. Make coaching licenses cheaper AND required 3. 3v3 until age 10, 7v7 until 13, then 11v11 4. Require MLS to subsidize youth leagues/clubs 5. Prioritize ind. development in team contexts 🇺🇸⚽

@wife_geist I don’t see why clubs don’t partner with schools or school districts. Coaching would be consistent and would help identify talent. They have opposite seasons so fits perfectly. Could even do the same for universities.

something missed in US youth soccer "pay to play" critiques (valid) is that a european style academy system is good for producing players, but not good for giving kids futures. uncomfortable reality is that to develop a few elite players you need to convince thousands of kids...

@RyanOin360 @FavianRenkel Why do local clubs not create a league with pro teams? I think having regional clubs to support would resonate with folks more akin to universities. They already have most of the infrastructure in place but they just end at U19.

Lets say we all do that. How does that change anything? There are no relegations in MLS, so a team could suck forever but hey at least we supported them. The other US leagues can get away with this because they are the best of the best, but we don't have that with soccer. I don't think the answer to this question is to blame fans.

I love how people pack college football stadiums every Saturday without caring whether they’re watching the best players in the world. But when it comes to soccer, suddenly the excuse is, “It’s not the best league in the world.” Stop making excuses. Support your local club. That’s how the sport grows. #MLS #USMNT #USL

Could clubs partner with local schools to share the coaching pool and provide consistent training? Or partner with a school district and play other districts. Seems to me there is not enough consistency in younger leagues. Most kids probably play for a different coach and likely a completely different team in the fall and in the spring; one coach, team, league may not be as good or as competitive as the other so you don’t maintain that level of training that’s needed.

One big US soccer thought: our youth development has to get more affordable. One of my kids plays travel. It’s at least $5k a year & this isn’t even super high end. We can afford it, thankfully, lots can’t. Youth sports costs in the US are out of control, soccer more than most.

@RMaq28 @knbrmurph And he goes to play for Greece? Classic

@knbrmurph 21-year-old Niko Tsakiris from Saratoga. Led the USA to the quarterfinals in the U20 World Cup last year and is #1 in chances created/#2 in assists in all MLS as the engine for the first-place Quakes

Soccer heads: how's our farm system looking? We got any Aaron Judges or Steph Currys or Christian McCaffreys coming?

@ap__pats @starsnstripesfc Agreed. Has to be better players than coaches sons.

@starsnstripesfc I think Gio Reyna might be done

Players on this roster that should be done in a US shirt Ream Turner Miles Robinson McKenzie Roldan Those for certain. Would say Freese but we don’t exactly have a replacement yet