USMNT needs a true superstar
Mike Florio explains why the USMNT needs a true superstar and stronger internal competition to develop its next elite player after its disappointing World Cup loss to Belgium.
Video Transcript
Speaking of the US team, everybody's doing their postmortem about what the US needs to do, and there's always that, "Why not us?"
Well, here's why not.
Here's what the US needs.
After watching Lionel Messi yesterday, after seeing the exploits of folks like Mbapp and Haaland, we need a superstar.
I know it's easier said than done, but every time there's a World Cup, there's a guy who's the best player on the team, who everybody becomes aware of who he is, and then by the next World Cup, it's somebody else.
We need someone who is a year-to-year, World Cup-to-World Cup star player, a goal machine, a Harry Kane, one of these short list And again, I know, I know.
They're rare, and it's hard to develop someone like that.
The overall competition level has to increase so someone like that can fully develop and fully declare himself to be that superstar.
But that's what we need.
When you see what Argentina was able to do, they don't do that without Messi.
They don't come back from down two goals 78 minutes into the match without Lionel Messi.
So maybe we'll find a superstar somewhere.
It's basic numbers.
And you can see the urgency, and you can hear it when anyone connected to US soccer talks about the future after the US exit.
They keep hoping that more kids will be inspired to play.
The more kids that play, the more likely that one of those kids, one of these days, is gonna become that, that player, like Neo in The Matrix, the One.
And to the extent there may have been one in the past, the One played football or basketball or baseball.
That's the competition within the competition, supply of future star players.
And you need as many as possible participating so that you get the One, that the One who has those uncanny skills that can be developed to the highest possible level over a period of years picks the sport, makes the right decision from the perspective of soccer
