Major League Soccer might be making global headlines by attracting football’s elite – albeit in the final stages of their careers – but this hides an uncomfortable truth: the United States are still not producing enough elite talent of its own.
We only have to look at the USMNT’s recent World Cup run to see this. It was their best effort since 2002, that’s true, but look at their opposition up until this point. They beat Paraguay, Australia, and Bosnia and Herzagovina, three countries ranked much lower than the U.S. in FIFA’s rankings, lost to Turkey, and got absolutely spanked by Belgium in the Round of 16.
Belgium is a tiny country, but it has been a footballing country for a long time, producing some of the biggest stars in world football. In contrast, it’s not unfair to say that the USA has never produced a soccer player who went on to be a global superstar of the sport. Pulisic is fantastic, but he’s not a superstar. And don’t come at me with Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey either, because very few people outside the U.S. (apart from Fulham supporters) would recognise them.
The point here is this: MLS can buy quality, but the USMNT can’t.
Yet, the best way to improve homegrown talent, is via MLS teams and their academies. So the fortunes of both are interlinked, and as a nation, the U.S. needs the league to invest in young American talent if it ever wants to seriously compete with the likes of France, Argentina, Spain, or England.
The 4-1 Defeat To Belgium
Losing to Belgium, a team ranked 8th in the world, is nothing to be ashamed of. However, the manner in which the USMNT lost is embarrassing.
There’s no way to dress it up: losing 4-1 is a spanking, and losing like that on home soil hurts even more.
Belgium didn’t even have to spend the whole 90 minutes battering the U.S. They were simply clearer, calmer, and more clinical. The United States were outplayed rather than outworked.
After going 1-0 down, Malik Tillman’s free kick gave American fans something to believe in again, but it was a false hope. His free kick took a deflection, that’s the only reason it went in. Courtois was going the right way for it before that, so even the consolation goal was a fluke. And poor Matt Freese – that was one of the worst mistakes in international football in recent memory, but let’s not pretend things would have been different had he not made it.
The truth is, the American soccer system is not producing the kind of talent required to seriously compete at this level.
National vs Domestic Soccer
While Major League Soccer is flirting with the top 10 leagues in world football, the gap between U.S. soccer and European soccer is still very wide.
Just look at the national squad: only 8 of the 26 man squad played in MLS at the time of the tournament. MLS is central to the American soccer ecosystem, but the national team’s best players are all in Europe.
This means MLS needs to develop players that are good enough to outgrow the league. Until the league improves to the point that they no longer have to leave it, of course. But who knows how long, if ever, that will take.
The work has already begun, with all clubs now running academies, the league rewarding the development of homegrown players, and MLS NEXT and NEXT Pro being given more attention. There are now clearer pathways for talented youngsters to become professionals.
The fact that the USMNT had their best World Cup since 2002 shows positive change is happening, but the World Cup doesn’t just test how much the standard has risen, it tests how high the ceiling is.
As the U.S. found out against Belgium, the ceiling happens to be very high indeed.
American Soccer and MLS
Of course, MLS alone is not solely responsible for the U.S. Men’s Team’s shortcomings. American soccer is bigger than one league, even though it doesn’t always feel like it. MLS is top of the domestic pyramid, but USL clubs, college soccer, youth clubs, and even private academies all have a part to play.
Still, being the top of that pyramid, MLS must take a leading role. If the country wants to become a serious international contender, MLS cannot remain a league where famous players choose to end their careers. It has to be a league where young players are challenged, trusted with real minutes, improved, and pushed to the highest level.
just a reminder that christian pulisic is that guy https://t.co/OiBeQ1eex5 pic.twitter.com/qsPIUd41vP
— Redd (@ReddCinema) July 6, 2026
That doesn’t mean keeping them all in MLS for their whole careers. In fact, for now at least, one of the best signs of success as far as development is concerned, is seeing American players becoming too good to stick around.
But over time, as the league improves and those famous players perhaps start arriving a little younger, we should hope to see more American players coming through the system who help improve the league. Who don’t have to leave to continue developing.
Until then, MLS has to keep building the domestic stage while its academies try to produce the kind of American players who can own the international one.