On Monday night in Nashville, Tenn., El Salvador shockingly scored a stoppage time goal to draw the United States Under-23 National Team 3-3, knocking them out of the 2012 London Olympics. The goal itself was entirely avoidable. Substitute goalkeeper Sean Johnson blocked a distant effort from Jaime Alas, only to have the ball bounce over his body and into the net. The unlikely equalizer from El Salvador will be the lasting image from the United States' forgettable tournament play, but events earlier in the game and in the prior match against Canada are equally responsible for the heavy favorite's untimely exit.
After defeating Cuba 6-0 in the opening match of group play, the United States fell 2-0 to Canada two nights later. Needing a victory against El Salvador just to advance to the semifinals - where a victory would have sent them to London - the United States jumped out to a 1-0 lead after just one minute. After the early goal, the United States became complacent and allowed consecutive goals in the 35th and 37th minutes to fall behind 2-1. After halftime, the United States regained the lead and seemed in control after 65th and 68th minute goals, only to concede the 95th-minute stunner that eliminated them from the summer games.
The United States' failure to qualify for the Olympic Games, coupled with its failure to qualify for the Under-20 World Cup this past summer, marks a disturbing trend in the development of our nation's soccer program. The U-20 World Cup and Olympic Games feature teams comprised of under-23 players and three designated senior players. Success at these two levels of play is generally a strong indicator of future success at the senior team level. In short, teams that normally win or do well in the two youth tournaments go on to produce strong senior teams and perform well in the subsequent World Cup.
After the United States won its group in South Africa for the first time in the history of American soccer, hired prestigious manager JurgenKlinsmann and defeated Italy - in Italy - for the first time ever on Feb. 29, things were looking up for U.S. soccer. Additionally, the U-23 team defeated Mexico 2-0 in a friendly the week before qualifying began, which, at the time, generated unprecedented hype.
After failing to qualify for the Olympics, however, we are forced to readjust our expectations for our nation ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The current senior team is steeped in youth in the midfield and forward positions. However, the back four are old and have looked very shaky dating back to the United States' embarrassing 4-2 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup this past summer.
The hope was that at least one center-back would step up during the Olympic qualifying rounds and demonstrate that he would be ready to step into that role for this upcoming World Cup. Defenders Ike Opara and Perry Kitchen were perhaps the only two weak links on the very talented U-23 squad. Also, both goalkeepers, Bill Hamid and Sean Johnson, who were slated to become Tim Howard's backup and successor, looked very shaky, and their mistakes cost the United States a spot in the Olympics.
For all of the dazzling attacking players that are coming through the pipeline, like Brek Shea, Joe Corona, Juan Agudelo, Terrance Boyd and Joe Gyau, the United States still lacks a steady back line. How can we expect the United States to contend against the likes of Argentina, Brazil and the European powers, if they cannot even contain lowly squads from Canada and El Salvador?
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Alex Arthur is a sophomore majoring in economics and English. He can be reached at Alexander.Arthur@tufts.edu.
