There were high hopes for the USMNT at the 2026 World Cup, but once they faced a higher-calibre team, their lack of quality became clear.
Mauricio Pochettino's side dominated their group before beating Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32.
However, once they came up against Belgium , a good but not great European side, in the Round of 16, they were beaten 4-1. Now, former England player Stan Collymore has explained that the cost of playing football in the US will prevent the country from becoming a soccer superpower.
Photo by Kyle Rivas/USSF/Getty Images for USSF
Collymore, who featured for the likes of Liverpool and Aston Villa in the Premier League during his playing career, highlighted how expensive soccer is to families in the US compared to England when offering his thoughts.
Commenting via X/Twitter , he stated: "Why the USA will never be a football superpower. Pay to play.
"In England, from 10 to 16 I played junior football. The teams were mostly started by a parent who wanted, for free, to give kids a team to play in. Those teams then joined FA-sanctioned leagues ( Lichfield league, Walsall league in my case). Subs were about 50p a game ( subs are a fee for admin, pitch hire, referee).
"The model in England hasn't changed much, save for the fact there's fewer teams and fewer leagues. But the cheap-to-play model, meaning the poor and rich can play equally, holds.
"I'm staying with one of my best mates in Miami. Had a late-night conversation 2 nights ago. 2 kids that play football.
"$4000 per season, per child to play for a team. Why?
"US junior leagues are private enterprises (shock). The US equivalent of the Football Association offers no grassroots football, no level 1 to 3 cheap badges for Moms or Dads to take so they can coach the basics, no structure locally or nationally of organised leagues, just profiteers who start up a league, charge a fortune, and if you're a poor Messi-esque talent from the wrong part of Miami, sure you can buy a ball and play on a patch of grass, but forget organised football, you can't afford it.
"So imagine, in a nation of 350 million, how many kids they're missing out on and will continue to after this successful World Cup for them.
"Money, greed, pay to play. 99.9% of greats to play the game wouldn't have made it in America. Because they couldn't afford $4000 ( plus) to play. In subs my Mom probably paid £200 total over 6 or 7 years of junior football.
"America, it's not all about money you know, it's about opportunity for all too. And you're pricing generation after generation out of the chance to be a part of this incredible sport you've seen first hand.
"To the US Federation. Do ——- better. Organise local and national junior leagues, ban profiteering, offer cheap coaching badges for parents who want to give their time for free to America's kids. Football. Accessible to all."
Collymore is not the only notable name to criticise the cost of playing soccer as a kid in the USA recently.
Former USMNT star Landon Donovan also explained why the USA is letting kids down when it comes to pricing, claiming 'only 2% of kids who were playing organised soccer in America came from households that made less than $50,000'.
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