Out of ashes of 2018 disappointment, USMNT built perhaps its most talented World Cup team | Opinion

DOHA, Qatar – Christian Pulisic was in tears as he left the field in Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. men’s World Cup hopes over. Already making a case as a teenager for best American player ever, hopes had been high for a new era of success in U.S. soccer.

Now it had all gone wrong, and there was no obvious answer for how the USMNT was going to turn things around.

Five years later, the devastation of missing the 2018 World Cup in Russia has faded. Time helps – as does the realization that the darkest time in U.S. soccer’s modern era might have paved the way for the brightest.

"That first year after not qualifying, the new guys that they brought in and the opportunities so many new players were receiving, it changed a lot in the way team was functioning," Pulisic said last week. "The players they brought in, you’re seeing it now. It’s a whole new look.

"I think it’s only a good thing for the future."

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The USMNT’s first World Cup appearance in eight years begins Monday against Wales. The Americans play England on Friday and wrap up Group B against Iran on Nov. 29.

When a team qualifies for a World Cup, there is a tendency to hang onto what worked. A coach might be brought back for another cycle, and older players are given leeway to stick around if they so desire. Sometimes it works. More often than not it doesn’t, and the status quo leads to stagnation. Or worse. (See the U.S. men at the 2006 World Cup. Or France in 2010.)

Failing to qualify for 2018, however, allowed the Americans to start from scratch, reimagining everything from the players on the field to who was coaching them to the group culture.

"It was a moment where U.S. Soccer said, 'OK, what’s next? How do we get this next group experience?'" said Gregg Berhalter, who was hired as the U.S. coach in late 2018.

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The USMNT is the second-youngest team at the World Cup in Qatar, with an average age of 25 years and 216 days. But goalkeepers aside, all but two players already have double-digit caps. That means, despite their youth, most have been part of the senior national team for three years or more.

U.S. captain Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, both of whom have become leaders on this squad as well as starters, made their USMNT debuts in November 2017, the first game after the loss in Trinidad. So did Cameron Carter-Vickers. Tim Weah and Shaq Moore arrived four months later.

Brenden Aaronson and Sergino Dest got their first call-ups in 2019. Gio Reyna, Yunus Musah and Jesus Ferreira have all been part of the team since 2020. Only two players, Joe Scally and Haji Wright, made their first appearances this year.

Many of the players – the starters, at least – are at top clubs in Europe.

"It definitely was an accelerator," Berhalter said of the 2018 debacle. "It also gave us the opportunity to start to look deeper into the player pool. And look into who’s potentially there because, why not try them? We’re so young, what difference does it make if we put another young player out there?"

The prime example of that came last summer, when the USMNT played in both the Concacaf League of Nations and the Gold Cup. The tournaments were less than eight weeks’ apart and Berhalter decided to use two different squads so he could evaluate more players. The top-level Americans played in the League of Nations while the second-tier and less-experienced group played in the Gold Cup.

The USMNT won both tournaments, beating Mexico each time. Thirteen of the 33 players who appeared in those finals made the World Cup roster.

"I was really happy with how far we’ve come in the past couple years," Pulisic said this summer. "I think this team is really happy with the progress we’ve made, but we know we can improve. And we’re going to have to improve to reach our goal, and that’s to compete to win the World Cup. That’s what we want to do."

To reach such an audacious goal, though, it isn’t enough to have a team of talented players. They have to be the right players.

Talk to anyone on the USMNT for any length of time, and he is sure to mention the squad’s chemistry and how close the team is. What they lack for in World Cup experience they are certain will be made up for in their commitment to playing for one another, their "brotherhood."

That doesn’t happen by accident. Berhalter has been very intentional about the personalities and character of the players he selects, and then putting them in situations that will strengthen their bond. There are dinners out when they’re on the road. A trip to NASA.

Before a World Cup qualifier against Honduras in February, Berhalter, a foodie, had the team do an Iron Chef-like competition. Working in teams, the players had to create three dishes that were tasted by judges.

"I don’t remember exactly who won," Berhalter said. "But I remember it was so funny to see the guys how focused they were. It was almost like they brought their competitiveness and athleticism to cooking. It was amazing."

Awful as the COVID pandemic was, it also brought the young Americans closer. Players were stuck at home and those in Europe, in particular, were craving connections to back home. Jokes and messages were exchanged on social media. Some players FaceTimed. Fantasy football teams were formed.

Mostly there were marathon video game sessions, Fortnite usually, involving players on both sides of the Atlantic.

"A lot of the guys were in there," McKennie said. "Me, Christian, Walker (Zimmerman), (Cristian) Roldan, Aaron Long – we had definitely a lot of people. Those were the ones who were always talking in the headset, whether it was trash talking or talking about camps coming up and seeing each other."

(For those wondering, Pulisic and Roldan were the best gamers. McKennie, no surprise, was the best trash talker.)

Berhalter also created a Leadership Group – Adams, McKennie, Pulisic and Zimmerman are core members – and gave it latitude to make decisions for the team. It’s allowed players to have a say in everything from curfew times to when they practice to who wears the captain’s armband.

The result of all this is that there are no cliques in this group, no player who keeps to himself. While the international windows can be a grind, especially for players coming from overseas, the players look forward to national team camps because it means they get to spend time together. This past summer, several of the European-based players used part of their break to visit guys playing in MLS.

Their affection for one another is genuine and, they believe, makes them a better team.

"The group has always been really, really together and really bonded. Coming back in here after a year away, it’s noticeable how much more it is bonded. How much more each (player) cares about the guy next to him," said Tim Ream, who was on the roster for the first World Cup qualifiers last fall and then not again until Qatar.

"That’s always been a hallmark of U.S. teams. (But) this one has, without a doubt, the most togetherness that I’ve seen, and I’ve been part of the program for 12 years now," said Ream, the "grandpa" of the team at 35.

None of this guarantees that the USMNT will go far at the World Cup in Qatar. Their group is difficult, and it’s impossible to predict how the young team will react to its first World Cup experience.

But they’re also playing the long game. The core of this team will still only be in their mid- to late 20s, the primes of their careers, when the United States co-hosts the World Cup with Canada and Mexico in 2026. It will be a massive opportunity for growth and exposure, both for American soccer, the USMNT and the players themselves.

"When we took over, it was with the understanding it’s a very young player pool. That’s not an excuse, it’s a fact that we’re that young. And how are we going to take this young group and build a group that’s capable of winning. Capable of competing," Berhalter said.

"This World Cup is extremely important to start that foundation. The next World Cup, in our own country, is also very important," Berhalter said. "When you see guys like Yunus or Christian or Tyler or Weston … they’re going to need to keep improving and keep growing. This isn’t the end station. This is just a station along the way. You really need guys with the right mentality to do this."

And the USMNT is confident it has them. Disappointing as missing the 2018 World Cup was, some good has come out of it.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Not qualifying for 2018 World Cup gave USMNT clean slate for Qatar