The United States fell short of yet another deep run in the FIFA World Cup following its loss to Belgium in the Round of 16, but former USMNT head coach Bruce Arena thinks of it as a success. Arena has argued that the sport is in a much stronger position than ever before, dismissing criticisms about the youth development system.
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“I’m baffled by the talk about this pay-for-play is hurting the national team program,” Arena said in an appearance on Coaches’ Corner. “I don’t agree with that. I think we have more quality players being developed in our country. This World Cup is a major win for the sport in this country. We have more people that have followed the sport now and like the sport.”
While speaking to host Rob Stone and guests Bob Bradley and Gregg Berhalter, Arena made it clear that he thinks the US is narrowing the rest of the world’s lead on football, while acknowledging that work remains. However, he was extremely defensive of the pay-to-play youth development system in place in the US.
“We have more quality players,” he said. “The league is getting better. And I think in time, we’re going to be up there with the big boys. We’re not there yet, but we’re making tremendous progress. Just look about the quality we showed… We showed that we’re arguably among the top dozen countries in the world, maybe the top 16 countries in the world.”
Arena has credited the rise of the MLS and the improving pipeline of players to the pay-to-play systems, and he views the USMNT’s run to the Round of 16 as confirmation of his belief that US Soccer is heading in the right direction.
The former USMNT coach concluded his statement with a bold prediction, explaining that he believes that America can overcome the rest of the world and win a World Cup.
His comments follow widespread criticism of the US’ pay-to-play system from various voices, including Bruce Arena’s former player, Landon Donovan.
“My mom made $34,000 a year, single mom raising three kids — she couldn’t pay $4,000 for me to play club soccer,” Donovan said during an appearance on the Late Run podcast. “So I would’ve had zero chance, but somebody let me on the team and paid for me.”
USMNT’s 2026 World Cup squad’s Chris Richards’ mother confirmed the same. She recalled how after the economy crashed in 2009, Richards almost had to give up soccer because they could not afford to pay for it.
