Stubbornness and lack of talent: the factors that doomed USA's World Cup


Bruce Arena’s team will not be at Russia 2018. It doesn’t take long to discover why they failed so badly in their bid to qualify for the tournament

The shock is just now beginning to subside after the US men’s national team was eliminated from contention for the next summer’s World Cup in Russia. Every result that could have doomed them on Tuesday night came about, with Honduras and Panama’s respective wins combining with the US’s own 2-1 loss at already eliminated Trinidad & Tobago to knock Bruce Arena’s men out.

The list of what didn’t doom the United States’ qualifying campaign is lengthy – vastly greater resources and spending power relative to the rest of the Concacaf region, first and foremost – but before the autopsy begins in earnest, below are four things that consigned the US to desperate failure.

Related: Woeful USA fail to make 2018 World Cup after loss to Trinidad & Tobago

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Esa bola nunca entró ¡Árbitro vulgar! pic.twitter.com/9xyrrZIzWt

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