Here's a fact about the United States men's national team that many people seem to overlook: It's far from a great squad in the grand scheme of international soccer. This isn't a shot meant to belittle Jurgen Klinsmann's group; it's simply the truth.
Pick a metric. The Americans are 31st in the latest FIFA ranking, sandwiched between the Czech Republic and Algeria. They sit 23rd in ESPN's Soccer Power Index; better, yes, but still behind six South American teams, 12 from Europe and, of course, Mexico. (Also: Algeria, Japan and Senegal for the completists out there.)
While the Americans are one of seven countries to qualify for every World Cup since 1990 -- Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Spain are the others -- that's at least partially due to the relative ease of CONCACAF qualifying.