AL RAYYAN, Qatar -- Every four years, when the United States men's national team are eliminated from a World Cup -- at least the ones they qualify for -- the refrain is predictable: "We proved we belonged," or some variation thereof.
Except this time around it rang truer than in the past. Over the course of four games in Qatar, the US went toe-to-toe with their opponents, pressed them effectively and defended stoutly. Doing so with the second-youngest team in the tournament also bodes well.
So, with Netherlands having dispatched the US 3-1 in a World Cup round-of-16 matchup, a slightly different flavor of the same sentiment could be heard.