(USSF)
Seems like a dream, or, for that matter, a nightmare: Five weeks ago, the United States failed to qualify for the World Cup because it couldn’t manage a draw against lowly Trinidad and Tobago.
The fallout has been severe: widespread criticism of the players, coaches, U.S. Soccer Federation and player development system; the firing of Bruce Arena; mounting pressure on USSF President Sunil Gulati to step aside; and a rush of candidates lining up to challenge the previously unchallenged Gulati in the federation election in February.
Meantime, the games go on. The Americans will take the field for the first time since the hexagonal fiasco, visiting European champion Portugal in a friendly in Leiria today at 3:45 p.