USMNT need more than Mauricio Pochettino or a big-name coach: Five ways U.S. Soccer must change after World Cup exit

A strong domestic league does not guarantee a strong national team. Argentina are the clearest example. Their best players are spread across Europe, and their domestic league has long operated as a selling league. Morocco, Switzerland and Norway have also shown that World Cup success does not require a top-five domestic league.

But the U.S. faces a different challenge. The issue is not just whether MLS can produce more players. It already is producing more of them, and the league’s academies have become a major part of the American player pathway. The bigger question is how many talented kids are still being missed before they ever get close to that pathway.

That is where U.S. Soccer and MLS can make a real difference. The pay-to-play model remains one of the biggest structural barriers in the American game. Too many families are priced out by club fees, travel costs, showcases, equipment and private training before their children are ever seriously scouted. In a country this big and diverse, that is not just a participation problem. It is a talent-identification problem.

The next step should be a serious joint effort to lower those barriers: more subsidized elite environments, more free regional centers, more support for travel and equipment, and better scouting in communities that are not already connected to the academy system. MLS does not need to become Europe, and U.S. Soccer does not need to run every local club. But the two sides should be aligned on one obvious goal: making sure talent, not family income, determines who gets seen.

The USMNT do not need every domestic prospect to become Christian Pulisic. They need a deeper, wider, and more representative player pool. That starts long before players reach the national team. It starts by making the game more accessible to the kids who are still being left out.