The Americans can't afford another missed opportunity

Amid all of the buzz from Tuesday night, it’s easy to forget that the US have done better.

Although I was not yet nine years old, moments from the 2002 World Cup stuck in the memory. Beckham’s penalty was one, Ronaldo’s haircut was another, whilst I remember the controversial but impressive run to the semi-finals South Korea enjoyed.

When I look back at those finals, the fact that the United States made the quarter-finals should be equally as memorable. Victory over Portugal in the group stage set them up for progression into the round of 16, where they achieved their first World Cup clean sheet since 1950 with a 2-0 win over rivals Mexico. Their journey was only ended by a contentious 1-0 defeat to Germany, when Thorsten Frings appeared to prevent an American goal with the use of his hand. 

Presumably I hadn’t got my nine-year-old head around the fact that being a large nation didn’t necessarily equate to footballing success, or that ‘soccer’ didn’t dominate American sport in the way that it does in the UK. So, the considerable achievement of Brian McBride, Landon Donovan and Claudio Reyna went over my nine-year-old head, and I wasn’t the only one. After the Americans sealed their passage into the last-eight the US media reaction was one of surprise – “The World Cup is still going on right now?” was one response.

Among those die-hard soccer fans, though, the achievement remains a highlight in the history of the USMNT, up there with their famous 1-0 victory over England in 1950. The ten-year anniversary of the win over Mexico was celebrated loudly in some quarters, and fans of the team point to the victory as evidence of the American superiority over their neighbours.

Sadly, that appears to be the only legacy from the tournament (and a false one at that). Copious amounts of money continued to be pumped into the sport without direction, and the MLS began to grow at a faster rate than public interest.

Even the arrival of David Beckham failed to significantly raise interest in the sport across the pond, and the US’s relationship with soccer remained strained, the team’s achievements even being treated with a degree of ridicule. After a draw with England at the 2010 finals, the New York Post’s headline declared: ‘USA wins 1-1!’, before claiming that ‘this sport is stupid anyway’ after their subsequent exit.

(thesun.co.uk)

The US may have more Gold Cups to their name than the Mexicans since Korea/Japan, but it is their neighbours that can claim more real progress since 2002. Appearances at the Olympics and Confederations Cup, as well as two U-17 World Cups are testament to the strong foundations that Mexican football finds itself built upon.

This time, though, things could and should be different.  Social media was buzzing with American pride on Tuesday night, and Barack Obama’s phone call to the team emphasised the feeling of a sea-change in American attitudes.

In Jurgen Klinsmann they have a serious coach with an interest in the future of the national side complemented by a team with potential. With a few lessons learnt from their experience at these finals and indeed from their Mexican neighbours, the mistakes of 2002 may not be repeated.

Although Tim Howard’s monumental efforts may have proved to be in vain on the night, the national response to his team’s World Cup means that, if the US gets it right, his saves may be even more significant than his country’s record-breaking run twelve years ago.