The disappointment and the criticisms that coincided with the United States failure to make the 2018 Men’s World Cup was colossal. The USMNT has been there every time since 1990.

Canada has been to the World Cup just once (1986).

The United States will go again – probably in 2022. Canada will go again, but probably not in 2022.

So what are the problems and the solutions?

  • Coaches have become more important than players. Practice sessions are so coach dominated that players do not have to think for themselves.
  • Players do not practice and “play” enough with the emphasis on “PLAY.” Consequently players do not “learn by doing” and do not have the
    opportunity to learn by their own mistakes.
  • The game both sides of the border is middle-class. The players are molly coddled and pampered. Life is good, but it is the wrong environment
    to produce high quality soccer players.
  • In the United States the African American is not as interested in soccer as they are in football, basketball and baseball. As well, the
    Hispanic kids who are interested in soccer are excluded by economics from mainstream soccer and so a great resource is neglected.
  • In Canada the inner city kids are excluded by the “pay to play” mentality as well as other difficulties experienced by inner city children.

So the United States will overcome some of its problems to be good enough to qualify in 2022.

Canada will probably not get things right in four years, but if the momentum keeps increasing to get the refugees and immigrants involved in the Inner Cities without the distractions of football, basketball and baseball which the kids are not interested in.

And without the financial wherewithal to play hockey, some very talented soccer players will emerge in Canada over the next 10 years.