The discussions around the USA’s Men’s Team and the whole soccer system are going to go on for a long time after how the 2026 World Cup ended for the USA. After the 4-1 defeat in the Round of 16, fans were simply left frustrated, But for former USMNT striker Taylor Twellman, the result wasn’t simply about one bad night. It was the reminder of a much deeper problem that has existed for years.
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“We can change things, but you’ve got to be willing to change things versus just staying on this train track hoping for a miracle,” Twellman said during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, posted by Golz on X. “Because I don’t think the miracle’s coming.”
His message was clear, unless U.S Soccer is willing to rethink how it wants to develop its players, expecting different World Cup results is unrealistic. For Twellman, the conversation around soccer has become rather unpredictable for the country.
“It’s crazy. I feel like we talk about pay to play every four years. Pay to play’s a massive issue, not just in soccer, but in youth sports in our country.”
While the pay-to-play model often is one of the biggest talking points after every World Cup disappointment, Twellman doesn’t believe that it is the root cause. He thinks that youth sports across America, be it baseball or basketball, hockey to soccer, have all become expensive. The real issue for him is that the country simply isn’t producing enough elite players to consistently compete with the world’s best.
“This is a long-winded way of saying we’ve got to find a way to have a bigger fishing net so when the World Cup comes, we have 48 to 50 players capable of playing at the highest level.”
For Twellman, relying on a handful of stars such as Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and more is never the solution. He thinks that the United States needs more players to perform. And truly, the lack of depth was clear in their game against Belgium despite the USA being considered favorites to win that game.
Belgium entered the Round of 16 carrying defensive concerns, and that was the main reason why USA had the upper hand. But when the game started, USA looked like rookies playing against Belgium. Other than the set-piece goal, USA didn’t create any chances that looked like they could challenge the Belgian goalkeeper. They conceded 4 goals, and one can say USA gifted this game on a silver platter to the European giants.
Twellman described the performance as America’s first real World Cup test, and they failed it miserably and couldn’t even do the basics right. Rather than searching for quick fixes, Twellman says that they should look at how nations like France, Spain, England and Argentina develop quality players in large quantities.
His solution begins with raising standards across the grassroots level. And that can be done through better coaching for everyone who plays the game. He says that even children playing local soccer leagues should receive proper guidance without it costing a fortune.
Twellman also believes that there should be a change in the wider development system. He says that this would eventually create stronger competition among players at the lower level, and only quality players will get into the team at their respective ages.
America has produced very few international stars in recent years other than the few we see today. And until those foundations improve, Twellman believes American supporters will continue experiencing the same World Cup disappointment and will keep having the same conversation every 4 years.
