CLEVELAND -- While the eyes of the soccer world will be focused on Russia over the next three weeks for the 2018 World Cup Tournament, there are plenty of teams not in the field of competition, namely the United States of America.
For the first time since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the U.S. Men’s National Team did not qualify for the tournament, and their counterparts on the U.S. Women’s National Team, themselves the defending World Cup champions, lamented the fact that America will not be represented on the game’s greatest stage.
“It really sucks,” striker Megan Rapinoe said to WKYC prior to an International Friendly against China at FirstEnergy Stadium. “It really does.
“Obviously, the World Cup will be amazing. I’m a big fan, just in general, but there’s just something so special about having your own country, there’s just such a buzz in the country. I can remember back to the last two at least just being so much fun, so I think it’s devastating for everybody probably in different ways.”
The Americans did not qualify for the 1938 World Cup, and starting in 1954, they missed out on nine consecutive tournaments. However, the Americans qualified for the next seven tournaments, advancing out of group play four times, including three trips to the Round of 16 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2002.
“We, as soccer fans, will get excited about the World Cup because it’s such a showcase event, but I think your heart aches a little bit in terms of not being able to cheer on your home team,” U.S. Women’s National Team coach Jill Ellis said.
“Regardless, our players are soccer fans, and they’re going to tune in. I think it’s going to be a fantastic event. Based on what I’ve seen out of our young guys, our men’s team, I think the future does look good. We’re always looking forward to the next game.”
Like Ellis, Rapinoe is confident the youth movement on the U.S. Men’s National Team will pay off in future World Cup berths.
“I can’t imagine them not qualifying for the next one,” Rapinoe said. “It seems like they have a nice crop of talent that is being forced into it now.
“They’re young players, but they’ll get a bit of experience before the next World Cup because bringing in older players doesn’t really make sense now. They’ll have a ton of experience under their belts. I can’t imagine them not qualifying again.”
While the Americans are not in the field for the 2018 World Cup, one U.S. Women’s National Team member, striker Alex Morgan, has a different kind of rooting interest, as her husband, Servando Carrasco, spent his childhood in Tijuana, Mexico.
“Obviously, we always want to support the U.S,” Morgan said. “I feel like the growth of soccer in the US has been fantastic in the past five years, 10 years, and the fact that they’re not in the World Cup, I think is really a bummer for U.S. fans.
“For me personally, my husband’s from Mexico, so I’ll be rooting for Mexico. I’m not sure how far they’ll go, but I’m excited to see some good football and I’ll be waking up pretty early to watch the games.”