Ben

[𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴 🥷🏿 @hoodg3nius]

Niggas watching the World Cup thinking this a daily occurrence no nigga sit down and a watch Tottenham play

[River - AP3 || #MVPaige @annabethpond3]

Tape it up.

[Dan Patrick Show @dpshow]

"You are part of the problem!"

– @KevinFrazier doesn't hold back on Alexi Lalas and U.S. Soccer 😳

[Frank Michael Smith @frankmikesmith]

The USMNT will be stuck at the World Cup until it adopts Germany's blueprint

In 2000 Germany finished last at the Euros and decided it was time overhaul the system. They built 390 regional training bases to make sure one was within 25 km of every kid in country. They hired 1,200 full-time coaches, invested €48 million per year and mandated that every pro club build a certified youth academy or lose its license

The cost to families was $0 and 14 years later, 21 of the 23 players who won the World Cup came directly from the system

[Btown Bucket Boy @BtownBucketBoy]

When Lalas says something so stupid it gives you brain damage, remember that our economy is run by people who think exactly like him.

Why invest in programs that benefit communities when corporations can CHARGE them for a worse service!

Suddenly things make a lot more sense!

[BASED SAVAGE @crackcobain__]

No reports on this @libsoftiktok ??? #Shocker

[Matt Binder @MattBinder]

a lot of people who claim to love this country actually just love capitalism and that they personally attained wealth through it

there’s no love for what actually unites America. there is zero civic pride. no care for the common good.

they don’t love the U.S. they love the USD.

[Brett @utdBrett]

"competitive market with businesses selling a product that obviously customers are willing to pay for"

Can you imagine using these words to describe children's football

[Carli Lloyd @CarliLloyd]

You rest when your playing career is over. Period.

[harry @hjsedits]

best pulisic moment since this

[Riles @Rilesdinho]

“christian we need your help, we’re going to lose in the ro16 again!”
pulishit:

[Adam Friedland @AdamFriedland]

Does Lalas realize he’s a dei hire

[same @jefglass]

The reason the US sucks at soccer is the same reason the US sucks at everything, it's inordinate commitment to the most venal form of capitalism

[Robert Louis, CFP @Rob2Shifty]

Tim Ream son or Bonnie Blue daughter

[Chris @chrisdaplant]

Once again, Jurgen Klinsmann was right. We need to rebuild the federation from the bottom up. Pay to play is killing us.

[Ishmael Johnson @IshmaelRJohnson]

Leandro Trossard is 5'8, 145 pounds soaking wet and just cooked Sergino Dest, who, on paper, would be touted as a better "athlete".

Youri Tielemans is 5'9 and may run a slower 40 than most P4 offensive linemen and controlled the entire match.

Tired trope is tired.

[ostonox @ostonox]

i'm crying man zohran saw team USA's performance and has mandated nonstop training camps until 2030

[Dan Wetzel @DanWetzel]

Maybe making travel soccer even more expensive will help the US finally get good.

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

In Germany, a talented 14-year-old earns his club money. In America, his parents pay the club $15,000 a year.

That single inversion explains why "we will not" is the most accurate line ever written about US soccer.

FIFA built a global system for this. Training compensation and solidarity payments send a cut of every transfer fee back to the clubs that developed the player, from age 12 onward. Develop one future pro and your academy gets paid for a decade. Barcelona's La Masia, Ajax, every Bundesliga academy runs on this logic. The kid is the asset.

US Soccer refuses to enforce those rules. When Seattle's Crossfire Premier claimed its $60,000 share of DeAndre Yedlin's transfer to Tottenham, it got nothing. Claims on the Dempsey and Bradley transfers died partly because the federation couldn't even produce the youth training records.

So American clubs earn zero dollars when a kid turns pro. They earn when a kid enrolls. Which makes the parent the customer, and the product is whatever keeps the parent writing checks: travel tournaments, hotel weekends, $500 showcase events, private training at $100 an hour. Elite pathways run $8,000 to $20,000 a year. A comparable academy spot in Italy costs about 120 euros.

Follow the incentive one level deeper and it gets darker. A club dependent on fees can't cut its weakest paying players, so rosters optimize for retention over development. The scouting pool shrinks to families who can afford the cliff, which appears around age 11, exactly when development matters most. The country runs a talent filter sorted by household income instead of ability.

Every four years someone proposes fixing this. The proposal always requires the people profiting from the $15,000 model to vote themselves out of business.

They will not.

[lauren @njdlauren]

These first 20 mins of USMNT gameplay