10 Steps to fix US Soccer Going Foward: 1. No more MLS Partnership: They have differing priorities and they should. They’re running a business and they’re promoting that business first and foremost. We can’t be indebted to an entity with self serving interests separate from the success of US National teams. 2. Pro/Rel for US Soccer: We need to grow the game and get more players the opportunity for exposure and top level competition. Simple. Make the matches more meaningful. Grow the roots, develop talent, make soccer for the people not for the rich MLS owners. 3. Our League Operates as an Exporter: US Soccer is not a powerhouse. Develop talent. Sell to Europe. Allow players to test their abilities against the best. Re-invest the funds. Repeat. Brazil and Argentina have perfected this. That’s the blueprint. 4. Soccer Needs to be Affordable: Funds from exports needs to be reinvested into the youth system. We depend on MLS for all youth development. We miss out on tons of talented young players because of their absurd and dated rules. 5. We NEED a Plan at GK Going Forward: Gaga and Kochen need senior minutes to see what they have. We desperately need somebody to take up the mantle. In the meantime we need to consider what characteristics we value in a GK and how we want to play. Can’t build out of the back with guys like Freese and Turner that are shot stoppers but aren’t great with their feet. 6. We NEED to Recruit: We simply don’t have the talent to rely on guys that grow up and develop through MLS. Guys like Banks or Chase could have flipped this World Cup. Suzuki could have been the answer in net. Can’t close that door. Poch whiffed on that. 7. Create an Identity: HOW do we want to play? What type of players do we need to develop to fit our general style? Yes, you scheme to the players you have but you can also develop played to fit a core identity. 8. Change the Culture: We’re never going to make soccer the most popular sport in the United States. What we can do is format our culture to better reflect sports fans in the US and make it unique instead of trying to copy everything Europe does. The idea of incorporating things done by college football teams is a good place to start. Recognizable traditions that will feel familiar and get fans involved. It needs to feel fun and not exclusive. 9. We can’t play timid or passive anymore. We moved away from big physical athletes grinding out games in favor of skilled players. That’s fine. They can’t lose what makes us unique though. We’re not going to out-skill Brazil, Argentina, Spain, France etc. anytime soon. We need to be the tone setters. Guys like Dest can’t play in the knockouts. We saw that today. We need a mix of both. McKennie, Adams, Richards, Tillman, and Reyna all play with an edge and with skill but don’t shy away from contact or the moment. That’s the blueprint. 10. We Need a World Class Talent or A LOT OF DEPTH: We better hope that Cavan, Albert, Gozo, Spivey, or Mehmeti can develop into something special. If not we need them all to hit to some degree. We saw with Haaland what an absolute game breaker it can be to have even a single World Class player in your team can be. Short of that you need incredible depth. Much of this tournement the starters were fine but the bench was sub-par. Can’t have that without a distinct identity or a world class roster. Ideally you have 2 of those 3. There’s many more valid ideas on how to fix this but these are the 10 that come to mind as I sit here miserable after having watched that utterly disappointing effort.