PHILADELPHIA — Granted, you need to dig pretty deep to find a silver lining to the U.S. men's national team’s World Cup qualifying humiliation in the fall of 2017. But if you drill down far enough, you might find something about the perils of overconfidence.
Everything about Bruce Arena’s lineup and approach that fateful night (and if you believe the former USA coach, the federation’s social media strategy as well), dripped with overconfidence. Fresh off a home demolition of Panama, the same attack-heavy American lineup surely would spend the qualifying finale on the front foot, boss the inexperienced Trinidadians and then pack their bags for Russia.