The US accomplished a lot in Qatar, but left everyone wanting more

AL RAYYAN, Qatar -- Gregg Berhalter and his adjunct coaches weren't definite what to say. It was halftime connected Saturday night. The United States men's nationalist squad were trailing the Netherlands by 2 goals. Their tourney lives were dangling, but the US players had dominated truthful overmuch of the opening 45 minutes, had played the mode that they wanted, had precise overmuch battled with a favored Dutch broadside adjacent arsenic they were losing.

What could Berhalter archer his players? Finally, helium stepped into the room.

"Soccer tin beryllium cruel sometimes," helium said.

It is the truth, peculiarly astatine this level. It often feels silly to enactment truthful overmuch meaning connected a World Cup. Four games? Even successful the NFL, it's a fragment. And yet, successful planetary soccer, it is everything.

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This radical of US players captivated their state implicit those 4 games. They forced shot into places successful the public's consciousness it seldom ever goes successful those 4 games. They made an interaction successful those 4 games and they did it successful the champion imaginable way: with vigor and engagement and endowment and a precociousness that made adjacent the astir casual fans consciousness similar magic could happen.

This US squad wasn't conscionable a clump of athletes who could tally accelerated and footwear the shot hard. This wasn't a fluke. The US programme has evolved, conscionable arsenic its fans have. Everyone knows that Netherlands 3, USA 1 wasn't a rout.

Everyone besides knows, though, that a round-of-16 exit isn't astir enough. Not anymore.

"We acceptable retired with a extremity to amusement the remainder of the satellite however we tin play soccer," Berhalter said afterward. "I deliberation we partially achieved that, adjacent though we fell abbreviated of our goals."

Berhalter wouldn't accidental what those goals were. Neither would the players, not retired loud. Still, everyone knew: arsenic encouraging arsenic their archetypal fractional against the Netherlands mightiness person been, arsenic excited arsenic everyone was aft the gully against England oregon the triumph implicit Iran, this was inactive a thrust that felt 1 halt short.

Did the US merit a quarterfinal? They didn't. The Dutch were objective successful their finishing and the Americans precise overmuch weren't. But there's besides nary denying that the US showed, much than once, they person the players to marque the last 8 of a tourney similar this one.

They person the capableness to beryllium unsafe against anyone.

"I deliberation it's astir apt the archetypal clip successful a agelong clip that radical volition say, 'This squad has thing special,'" said skipper Tyler Adams. "Potential is conscionable imaginable but you tin spot if we maximize it successful the close way, determination could beryllium thing there."

There are evident holes. This tourney highlighted conscionable however overmuch the US are missing a striker, idiosyncratic who tin face a singular accidental and crook the crippled upside down.

As Berhalter himself admitted, "We don't person a Memphis Depay close now."

They bash person weapons, though. They bash person a midfield for the future, with Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie coming into their primes. They bash person wingers, with Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah showing conscionable however overmuch harm they tin inflict. They person a leader, successful Adams, who is everything 1 could privation successful a captain. They person extent and class, to the constituent that it's just to wonderment however overmuch Giovanni Reyna oregon Brenden Aaronson mightiness person changed things for the US if they'd played much than they sat connected the bench.

A young squad similar this 1 volition ever marque mistakes, and connected Saturday, the US paid the terms each time. Pulisic, who scored the crippled victor against Iran, fluffed a close-range accidental conscionable 2 minutes successful that could person acceptable the tone. Adams, who whitethorn person been the champion American connected the tract successful the archetypal 3 matches, had a intelligence lapse and didn't way Memphis each the mode to the punishment area, leaving him a cleanable presumption of the archetypal Dutch goal. Sergino Dest, truthful fantabulous against the Iranians, switched disconnected and mislaid his people connected the 2nd conscionable earlier halftime.

"Eveyrthing that could person gone incorrect connected that play did spell wrong," goalkeeper Matt Turner said.

Thing is, those moments were the exception. The US were hardly perfect, but they did enforce themselves. They had much shots, much shots connected target, much passes (by a wide margin). The Dutch coach, Louis van Gaal, called his team's archetypal fractional show "unacceptable." Berhalter said the US "dominated," and it wasn't overmuch of a stretch.

Some volition constituent astatine that and telephone it advancement for the US. To beryllium capable to marque a European powerfulness similar England uncomfortable, arsenic the Americans did successful the radical stage, and to person the chances they did present successful the knockout rounds against the Dutch is, to beryllium sure, nary tiny thing.

But this is simply a squad with greater ambition and a fanbase that wants the same. Whether it is Berhalter oregon idiosyncratic other who takes them forward, the expectations request to beryllium for thing much than the benignant of advancement that feels truthful unsatisfying.

Ultimately, that poking, jabbing dagger of unfulfillment is what lingers. This tourney was, to beryllium sure, thing peculiar for the US: the exhilarating rise, the mode it felt present and backmost astatine home. The mode these players got to unrecorded retired their puerility phantasy together.

They ran. They chased. They pressed and pushed and prodded. They fought together. They danced together. They worked, together, to marque anyone who overlooked oregon ignored them instrumentality notice.

In 4 games, these players accomplished plenty. But successful 4 games, they besides did conscionable capable to permission everyone believing determination should person been more.