Of the United States and "golden generations"

Photo courtesy David Wilson/Flickr

I’m not going to lie to you. I slept through most of the United States Men’s National Team’s Copa America loss on Monday night against Uruguay.

Partly, this isn’t really my fault — I’m almost forced to go to bed earlier these days. But part of it was self-preservation, almost. A need to kind of be removed from watching the U.S. men for a while.

That’s how frustrating seeing them lose 2-1 to Panama last week was to me.

And it turns out I needed the perspective. So, distance, as the U.S. men valiantly fought but lost to Uruguay sending them crashing out of Copa America in the group stage on home soil.

Some have referred to the current USMNT as beneficiaries of a “golden generation” of talent. However, I’m not sure that label applies as readily as the media and fans think it should.

Is this generation golden?

I definitely bought into that. I mean, the U.S. hasn’t had the kind of talent it has now, maybe in its entire history, so in one way, the label could fit. But the term “golden generation” may have been too easily handed out to this particular group.

Consider, it wasn’t that long ago — prior to the 1994 World Cup, which was hosted in the U.S. — when we had nothing in soccer. The United States had no major league to speak of, a national team made up of college players and journeymen and a very small fan base. Soccer was pretty much a non-entity in this country.

Now? We have MLS, with academies churning out players at an astonishing clip. Fans fill most of the league’s stadiums, talent is streaming in from abroad (but not dominating rosters like the 1970s NASL), and the USMNT’s every move is scrutinized on social media.

Christian Pulisic on the USMNT, playing against Wales in the 2002 World Cup. (Tasnim News Agency/CC 2.0)

And now, we have talented players! Christian Pulisic is so quick on the ball and smart with his passes and dribbling. Tyler Adams is a defensive midfielder whose smarts belie his still young age of 25. Names like Dest, Weah, Reyna, McKennie.

But… golden… hm.

When you think “golden generations” in soccer, what comes to mind? Brazil’s 1950s teams, with Pele? Or the Hungarians of the same time with Puskas leading the way? Probably not — more recent vintages are usually cited, like the Belgium of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, or the Portugal of Christiano Ronaldo and Rui Costa.

But this is a double-edged sword. Belgium always seemed to come up just short of goal, although they had a good run in the 2016 World Cup. Portugal also seemed to trip at odd times, falling just short at Euro 2004.

The term can almost set you up to fail, and I think it is actually somewhat unfair in the U.S. case.

What if this ISN’T the “golden generation”, but merely a building block for an even better group behind them?

Look at our current roster. Outside of Pulisic, and maybe Adams or Anfernee Robinson, who makes the roster of any of the remaining quarterfinalists at the 2024 Euro? Or Argentina? Or even Uruguay?

Would you put our starting center-back pairing of 36-year-old Tim Ream and Chris Richards on Spain? Would you put Matt Turner in goal in place of Jordan Pickford for England (and I hate Jordan Pickford) or Mike Maignan for France or, especially, Diogo Costa for Portugal? Up front, Folarun Balagun has been fantastic at times, but him up front for Switzerland? (Actually, he wouldn’t be that bad for them, they could get him the ball.)

Another way to look: Build greatness not ‘golden’

What if instead, we look at the 2024 Copa the same way we should look at 2017's failings and the crashing out of the 2018 World Cup before even getting there?

This is a chance to retool, retrench, focus on young talent and see if we can continue to sustain. We should not just rely on false “golden generations” but truly build something great.

Unfortunately, that will start with the people in charge. US Soccer once more has to look at themselves in the mirror long and hard and ask a lot of questions.

Tops on the list, unfortunately, is: Why did you bring Gregg Berhalter back?

In some defense of Berhalter, I think the loss to Panama isn’t solely on him. That had a lot to do with Tim Weah’s early and extremely dumb red card. I’m not going to harp on Weah, speculate on whether he should return to the team soon, or anything like that. Frankly, he’s been through enough.

See also: U.S. soccer and Gregg Berhalter: Why did he come back?

And it’s on the rest of the players, too. It felt as though the United States came into that game with a mentality that the guys would show up and merely their presence would get them past Panama, even a man down. Didn’t happen. Panama, which fully understands how to play the grinding, fouling, awful way under-talented teams must play to survive internationally on this side of the world, did exactly that.

Yes, Berhalter has a share of the blame here: His role, especially in international soccer, is to mentally prepare his team for any eventuality. And that was not the case.

As a result, Berhalter and several executive members of US Soccer above him must be replaced before 2026, when the U.S. helps host the World Cup again. I think Cindy Parlow Cone, president of US Soccer, must also feel some heat here.

The good news is that several candidates will be available after this round of international tournaments. Personally, I’d love to see Canada’s coach, Jesse Marsch, get a well-deserved shot. (He may not be available.)

As for U.S. talent, the new double-edged sword is that we have already gained entry into the World Cup, because we’re hosts. So no qualifying, but also, no sweating just to get in.

But the ignominy of this year’s Copa may be a blessing. It’s definitely a warning — to players, you have to, HAVE TO, be ready for ANYTHING. And you have to, HAVE TO, get a better fit at coach. Berhalter ain’t it. He wasn’t it before he left, he ain’t it now.

As for the players, if you truly are a golden generation: PROVE IT. Show us fans — this very large, interested group of people who actually understand the game and who love this team — that you are good enough to carry the day in 2026.

Look to 2024 Paris for some hope?

Finally, there’s one team that may prove my point, and they play in less than a month: The U.S. Olympic team.

We’ve missed the Olympics tournament every time since 2008 and have come close to medaling once—we finished fourth in Sydney in 2000.

But there are some players who could develop: Gabriel Slonina, in goal, has already shown brilliance, and Jack McGlynn, Gianluca Busio, Ben Cremaschi and Aidan Morris are all solid in midfield.

However, much like our current senior men, our defenders are unknown quantities, and I’m not sure where the goals come from up top — Cade Cowell? Paxton Aaronson?

Still, let’s see how they do—expectations aren’t too high; just making the field was an achievement, but I want to see if this team can perform against France’s younger stars, like Rayan Cherki, or a veteran like Jean-Phillippe Mateta.

Can they be mentally prepared by their coach, Marko Mitrovic?

A true watershed moment for US Soccer

In the end, my hope is that 2024 is for US Soccer that long-needed watershed moment.

In 30 years, the U.S. has come from soccer backwater to … if not soccer-crazed, certainly soccer-aware. And its team has come from ragtag and stitched together to talented, but not talented enough to merely intimidate lesser teams.

This moment, 2024 Copa, shows there’s work still to be done. We are far from a finished product on the men’s side.

And I think that work starts in Paris — a small chance to see what the next guys can do. And where we may need some work.