The US is finally giving soccer the respect it deserves. Here's how.

For years soccer fever would only fall on the US once every four years - if that. So how did these new American stars join top European leagues seemingly overnight?

Written by Lachlan Sherriff

Ask any USMNT fan on the team's most humiliating moment ever.

Most of their responses? The Trinidad game.

Picture the scene. The USA have an away game against the worst team in their World Cup qualifying group, Trinidad and Tobago. All they have to do is win for automatic qualification to the Russia 2018 World Cup. Even a draw would've won them qualification, so long as Honduras or Panama didn't win by twelve goals. Even finishing fourth would give them a shot at the inter-confederation playoffs. Seems easy enough?

It wasn't.

An own goal from Omar Gonzalez and a long range shot from Alvin Jones had USA down 2-0 at half time in an unlosable game. Youngster Christian Pulisic scored quickly after the half time break but it wasn't enough. Honduras and Panama had picked up three points elsewhere and the USA had failed to make the World Cup.

This resulted in a national outcry and former USMNT forward Taylor Twellman to go on one of the best rants ever shown on ESPN.

The USA national team needed a change. Christian Pulisic, the then-nineteen year old winger, was clearly a talent, but he stuck out like a sore thumb in an aging US squad. The team that lost to Trinidad featured players like Tim Howard, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore - all great players five years ago, but significantly on the decline. The team needed a revamp, but with the NFL, NBA and MLB all stealing away potential fans, how could they even discover talent?

Little did many know, there was a new United States generation of talent right around the corner.

The future of USMNT

When Christian Pulisic burst onto the scene with Borussia Dortmund, people took notice. After only six months in Dortmund's youth academy, he had gotten his debut. After just ninety appearances, EPL mega club Chelsea paid 58 million pounds for his signature, and gave him the famous number ten shirt worn by other Chelsea legends including Eden Hazard, Joe Cole and Juan Mata.

That's one.

Then Weston McKennie put his name on notice. The centre mid from Texas had a very Pulisic-esque beginning, getting a Bundesliga debut after less then a year in Germany, though this time it was for Schalke 04. He has now played fifty times for Juventus, where he's won a Coppa Italia and played with the most recognizable face in the sport, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Well that's two.

By the time full back Sergino Dest was running down the same right flank as Lionel Messi in Barcelona, people were taking notice of the uproar of USA talent. All of a sudden Americans could be found in all top leagues. Zack Steffen and Josh Sargent established themselves as Premier League players, with Daryl Dike hoping to gain promotion into the EPL with West Brom. FC Barcelona boast not one, but two US prospects, with Dest as well as winger Konrad de la Fuente. Former NYCFC winger Giovanni Reyna has replaced Christian Pulisic at Dortmund with fifty appearances. And he's only nineteen.

So where has all of this talent come from?

Removing the pay to play system

Soccer has always been an expensive sport in the States. It's called the pay to play system, and it's something that is always bought up when discussing youth academies in America. Unlike rivalling sports basketball, baseball or American football, soccer can get more expensive when it comes to the USA. The more talented teams a child plays on, the more money that could cost. And not every family can afford that.

Thankfully, the times are changing. In 2019 only two of 24 franchises costed an annual fee. DC United and Minnesota United costed a reported amount of $2,500 anually to join the youth team.

The other 22 teams costed nothing.

With the new and improved youth academies, we've seen prospects like Gionluca Busio go from the Sporting Kansas City academy to the Serie A, Timothy Weah go from the New York Red Bulls to winning Ligue 1 three times, and Ricardo Pepi start out at FC Dallas' youth team and get a transfer to Bundesliga side Augsburg before his twentieth birthday. The lowered cost has played a key factor in getting new youth talent in the USMNT team.

The USMNT have had a massive number of players go from the MLS to world stardom in Europe in the last five years. If they keep it up, the sky's the limit for this team.