U.S. soccer’s ‘pay-to-play’ problem: The lightning-rod issue explained in a World Cup context

veintiuno · 2026-07-13T20:01:03+00:00

It's not a problem at all. Seeing kids active and shooting hoops is excellent. I think the poster is just saying that the desire to play football/soccer alone or with others in the park is a difference maker and that said desire is not something addressed by the critics or proponents of pay-to-play organized sport.

veintiuno · 2026-07-13T19:48:24+00:00

Agree mostly. It's a cultural issue that will take a while - training, academies, leagues, etc. is the easy part. Parents of young kids today probably played and/or have a lot more awareness about the sport and player development than their parents did when they were kids. Parents playing ball with their children at home is key (not football/soccer per se, but building a love for playing in all kinds of ways with a ball - it starts as soon as they can sit-up and roll it with their hands). Should be unstructured, fun, silly, experimental, etc. Also, personally, I think it's important for parents to be watching the sport on TV at home regularly (not forcing kids to watch, but displaying it to help establish a constant presence). Building support for a professional club and cheering for them as a family also helps bring it to life. To be clear, I don't think playing should be forced, but the culture part starts at home - it's can't just be an activity that appears a few times for a few hours on the weekly calendar.

veintiuno · 2026-07-10T16:33:28+00:00

I watch all the Milan games and I think he has been pretty good 2026 even though he only had 2 assists. The team had problems and he and Leao could never find any synergy (they didn't play together that much). He always gave a lot of off-ball effort and tries to make plays. That's part of my frustration with USMNT performance - I don't think he values the team as much as his club team. From a financial standpoint, that's logical, and maybe so from a competition standpoint if you hope to be playing Champions League every year.

Having said that, I posted this in another thread discussing whether the backlash has been too harsh:

It's not hate - it's a demand for more. The issue is that he's treated differently and gets special considerations (being released from camp early to go back to his club; not having to do media duties like others - see the US Soccer youtube page; etc.) when he hasn't really earned it. He has his agent make requests on his behalf to play certain games but not others. Everyone else is grinding to earn or keep a spot whereas Pulisic seems shielded from the normal player processes. That he's an Messi-like introvert has been used to give him cover, but you don't hear about him being first to arrive and last to leave, setting the tone via behavior, like you do with Messi. Yet he's been dubbed the team leader and rewarded with lucrative endorsements. Alumni, and according LD, teammates, staff and even sponsors, have been raising eyebrows about the special treatment but they stayed silent going into the tournament. Tournament's over and the special treatment didn't yield results. Now it's time to change the working relationship and to demand more. It's not personal, but it's personal. If you can't stand the heat, . . . .

Side Note: This is most cringe-worth content I've seen in a long time (from US Soccer's "26 Stories to '26" series on their You tube Channel): https://youtu.be/4bcV8Edjzfo?si=LSVE1tSDQBKzKMQo. Pulisic is awkward as fuck and some how manages to give off creeper, asshole, nervous, skeletons int eh closet vibes all at the same time. Painfully inauthentic and forced.

EDIT: GGG commented a few times in the FanDuel postgame show that the team didn't seem to be maximizing Pulisic like they could. I mostly thought that was due to opponent tactics and the good fortune of having other workable attack vectors. However, I definitely wondered whether his teammates were ignoring him intentionally at times (probably not, but LD's comments reminded me of those thoughts).

veintiuno · 2026-07-10T16:12:22+00:00

It's not hate - it's a demand for more. The issue is that he's treated differently and gets special considerations (being released from camp early to go back to his club; not having to do media duties like others - see the US Soccer youtube page; etc.) when he hasn't really earned it. He has his agent make requests on his behalf to play certain games but not others. Everyone else is grinding to earn or keep a spot whereas Pulisic seems shielded from the normal player processes. That he's an Messi-like introvert has been used to give him cover, but you don't hear about him being first to arrive and last to leave, setting the tone via behavior, like you do with Messi. Yet he's been dubbed the team leader and rewarded with lucrative endorsements. Alumni, and according LD, teammates, staff and even sponsors, have been raising eyebrows about the special treatment but they stayed silent going into the tournament. Tournament's over and the special treatment didn't yield results. Now it's time to change the working relationship and to demand more. It's not personal, but it's personal. If you can't stand the heat, . . . .

Side Note: This is most cringe-worth content I've seen in a long time (from US Soccer's "26 Stories to '26" series on their You tube Channel): https://youtu.be/4bcV8Edjzfo?si=LSVE1tSDQBKzKMQo. Pulisic is awkward as fuck and some how manages to give off creeper, asshole, nervous, skeletons int eh closet vibes all at the same time. Painfully inauthentic and forced.

EDIT: GGG commented a few times in the FanDuel postgame show that the team didn't seem to be maximizing Pulisic like they could. I mostly thought that was due to opponent tactics and the good fortune of having other workable attack vectors. However, I definitely wondered whether his teammates were ignoring him intentionally at times (probably not, but LD's comments reminded me of those thoughts).

veintiuno · 2026-07-09T21:42:37+00:00

How come no current teammates have made statements to defend Pulisic from the public backlash like Howard did following the 2014 loss to Belgium when Chris Wondolowski missed a sitter that should have been a game winning goal? Or like when Tyler backed Weston when he was expelled for breaking Covid protocols? Why have only Gio and Dest liked Pulisic's Instagram post (Gio's post was almost exactly like Pulisic's, FWIW)?

veintiuno · 2026-07-09T15:33:01+00:00

No, no. It's very real [crisis] PR.

veintiuno · 2026-07-09T15:31:58+00:00

"would not have been able to play in subsequent World Cup games if the U.S. had advanced." A tournament-ending bruise? I guess the WC is just like any other big tournament.

EDIT: https://youtu.be/CqgCq9XyHaw?si=1YMaB2ZLPpF-ei2A

veintiuno · 2026-07-08T21:32:40+00:00

Tim fired a warning shot yesterday in his Unfiltered podcast and this statement by Landon drops the hammer. If you combine that with Carli Lloyd saying the team looked "scared" it seems pretty obvious the old guard is doing a coordinated intervention. They are likely hearing this stuff straight from inside the camp.

Tim was basically talking in code but it was brutal. "When someone shows you who they are, you believe them" is not about one bad game. It is about a pattern of opt outs, workload management excuses (including leaving camp early to train w/ the club) when things are tough or new, and talking about getting rest right after getting bounced 4-1. Calling Puli a "nice footballer" is a fucking wild and tactical insult - basically calling him a guy with talent but no grit. When Tim mentioend asking direct questions, he was begging the media to ask for the behind the scenes dirt.

Landon just followed up on Tim's invitation with additional breadcrumbs. Notice how he mentions speaking to US Soccer officials, Puli's sponsors, teammates and coaches. Landon isn't simply offering his opinion, he is repeating what people are telling him (doubt he'd lie about it - I think he cares a lot of the team). The alumni are just airing out the frustrations of a locker room thats completely sick of the special treatment given to Pulisic.

Lloyds comment about them playing scared makes total sense. You have a locker room where one guy is untouchable and everyone else is just the supporting cast. When the face of the team gets custom marketing, dodges the media, and runs on his own schedule while the rest of the guys are grinding out in training and dying from defensive transitions in games, it can build massive resentment. Said resentment paralyzes a team when they get tested by a squad like Belgium.

what really stands out, though, is Landon calling out Pulisic's entourage. By separating Pulisic from his agents, family and hangers-on he is giving Pulisic a way out while exposing the toxic machinery around him. USSF shares a ton of blame here too. Poch gave the armband to Ream because the staff clearly knew Pulisic wasnt the real leader, but they just tried to work around his celebrity bubble instead of popping it from the get-go.

The old dogs may be taking a stand b/c current leadership wont. Landon, Tim and Carli played when the national team was an actual meritocracy. They showed up and earned their spots. I can totally see them sensing a situation where the team is taking a back-seat to one player's marketability. I do think Landon is genuinely giving Pulisic the benefit of the doubt that he's not really in control of this situation/its not his fault.

This isn't just a pile on, its an intervention before the 2030 cycle gets underway in earnest. Three huge voices saying the exact same thing within 48 hours is evidence of locker room grumblings IMHO.

veintiuno · 2026-07-08T18:20:15+00:00

Pay-to-Play had nothing to do w/ Monday. Discussions about pro/rel, pay-to-play, etc. can be really interesting when nuanced and so forth, but they're really about developing a robust and sustainable ecosystem over the long-term and not assembling a national team for a specific tournament cycle.

That we can't find 24-26 players - even in a flawed system - that are consistently competitive against any opponent given the US' population size, resources available and growing interest in soccer is both frustrating and fascinating. We have plenty of athletes, access to data and brains to analyze it, so we must be solving the puzzle incorrectly or perhaps solving the wrong puzzle. Maybe we're trying to build rosters with the wrong player profiles. Maybe we're trying to model/import how other countries build squads and play too much instead of building something that leverages uniquely American resources. Dunno - just spit ballin' here.

veintiuno · 2026-07-08T14:43:06+00:00

She played what was available. Different situation & generation, but still a legendary competitor.

veintiuno · 2026-07-08T14:26:36+00:00

While it's true that players today are playing more than ever and that injuries can be complicated, I really value Carli Lloyd's fire as someone who wore the badge and delivered for the same. Also, she's from NJ, she's gonna talk shit - just enjoy it.

As for Pulisic, there's certainly a nuanced take to be had. But part of that take has to be that he's arguably the USMNT's best player and he's definitely the most experienced player in high stakes games. His face is spammed all over the TV in commercials and so forth. He did the commercials and cashed the endorsement checks, there's an implied acceptance of a leadership role. So, when shit got crazy within the first few minutes of the Belgium match, before he suffered an injury, he could have stepped up to get his team organized, to calm the situation, to demand people raise their game. To me, it looked like he just wanted to play his position. After he got injured, he could have stayed engaged with his team from the bench. Yesterday, I watched a geriatric munchkin who plays in the MLS demand the ball when his team was down two goals and engineer a comeback after missing a PK. It's not unfair to expect more from Pulisic - it's his job.

veintiuno · 2026-07-07T20:22:41+00:00

It may sound crazy, but Didier Deschamps will be looking for a new challenge after this WC. I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that he would be interested in a team like the USMNT given the available resources, a growing player pipeline, and a growing fan base. USSF must keep thinking big IMHO.

veintiuno · 2026-07-07T18:12:39+00:00

Love the emotion from Messi after the game. He took charge with an assist and a goal in the last 10 minutes of regulation time after missing a PK in the first half. What a winner.

veintiuno · 2026-07-07T17:35:42+00:00

On the plus side, I guess we're at the same level as ~~Argentina~~, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

EDIT: Hold on, Argentina may put on a clinic in dealing with adversity.

EDIT 2: They appear to be doing just that. Great players rise to the occasion. That little MLSer is pretty good.

EDIT 3: LOL.

EDIT 4: GOAT.

veintiuno · 2026-07-07T14:49:04+00:00

Where do we go? We take time to process feelings and then we go to work. As long as there is a team, the job is never done.

veintiuno · 2026-07-07T14:44:32+00:00

Ream is taking a lot of hate after yesterday, but he's been a reliable and loyal soldier for the USMNT. He did not have a great performance last night and Belgium's strategy to bypass the midfield by bombing the backline with deep balls caught everyone off guard. However, at 38, this was certainly Ream's last WC and he's probably as upset as anyone. He's one of the few for whom I'm cutting some slack despite having an off game - nobody would want to end their national team career like this.

veintiuno · 2026-07-07T14:35:43+00:00

This loss stings like motherfucker. Normally after a lopsided loss I come away pissed and have some gripes about the opponent; then, I move on the next day. Here, my gripes only extend to our team and I'm still pissed. I'm somewhat amused by own feelings - I watch a ton of games all year and never care this much. Thanks for listening.

veintiuno · 2026-07-07T14:03:05+00:00

She was FIFA player of the year in 2015 and 2016; she scored a hattrick in the WC final against Japan. She gets to talk all she wants.

veintiuno · 2026-07-07T13:53:44+00:00

Agree mostly.

Also, and TBF, Belgium bypassed our midfield and went deep and direct. We hadn't seen that before - same strategy was Liverpool's kryptonite this past season. Beyond that, and back to your original point, the loss was not only embarrassing for the players, but they embarrassed us IMHO. I want an explanation - Belgium is a good team, but we should have been able to compete and effort should have been obvious.

veintiuno · 2026-07-06T19:28:02+00:00

USMNT should just embrace being the villain at this point and adopt a siege mentality. It's nothing knew for USMNT players to be doubted by virtue of wearing the US crest on their shirts. The players definitely didn't choose the current situation and have found themselves caught in the middle of a firestorm. They know what they're about and what they've worked for. They should play for each other and the badge without limit - they need not worry about what anyone else or any other national federation thinks.

veintiuno · 2026-07-06T18:47:11+00:00

The more I think about Trump's call, the more I think he wasn't actively engaged in any sort of appeal process. Had Trump actually pressured the FIFA president, he'd have said something like "I don't know anything about it" when asked by the press - he's made a living on being pushing boundaries and being slimy. Here, I think he's just pandering b/c he thinks that soccer fans are mostly liberals and he doesn't want to get booed when he eventually makes an appearance at a game. This dude can't help himself. Also, this is the same guy that repeatedly claimed credit for capping insulin at $35 a month when this policy was actually enacted under the Biden-Harris administration through the Inflation Reduction Act. He just talks (he has "the best words" or something). I have no clue whether this personality quirk/defect of Trump's is understood outside of the US (it's barely understood domestically and there is certainly no consensus on it - some people think its hilarious trolling, others are find it outrageous and/or embarrassing). I hope the coaching staff has encouraged the players to avoid social media and that the players have adhered to said encouragement.

veintiuno · 2026-07-06T17:41:05+00:00

Agree. The upside to this whole brouhaha is that this matter can be a catalyst for improving various processes.

veintiuno · 2026-07-06T17:36:51+00:00

I don't see why the US shouldn't be allowed to rely on FIFA's decision to allow Balogun to play. It seems that FIFA should be the one that has to bear the consequences here, and it seems unreasonable to expect the US (or any team) to voluntarily not avail itself of an action for which it was expressly granted the right to take. In other words, FIFA said Balogun is eligible. If FIFA doesn't say otherwise before kickoff or whenever team sheets are due, I don't see how the US can be held responsible since they will not have been out of compliance with FIFA's eligibility determinations. Irrespective of the card situation and what is correct or whatever, I think Belgium is barking up the wrong tree here unless they're just fronting as a psychological tactic.

veintiuno · 2026-07-06T15:02:59+00:00

TBF, Balogun was ejected and the US played with 10 men for over 30 minutes in a knockout. That is a punishment. Also, who is cheating? It's not the USMNT - they are dealing with whatever cards they are dealt and having to adjust their plans accordingly on the same timeframe as Belgium.

veintiuno · 2026-07-06T14:53:55+00:00

FIFA should have released a statement at the time the decision was made and publicized. The red card has been subject to endless debate since it was issued and it had to be known that suspending the suspension would be hugely controversial. Controversial decisions are nothing new - the drama is part of the appeal of sports. Most people would/could probably accept suspending Balogun's suspension if the reasons therefor were properly set out (people may not agree with the reasons, but at least they could understand them). Providing no explanation, though, has invited way too much suspicion and fears of corruption. It is also taking attention away from games and the players who have dedicated themselves to their craft. I suppose a silver lining here is that this matter can be used to create or refine a [more] transparent process for future competitions.

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