The US isn’t even close to catching the Europeans and South Americans when it comes to structure and player development.

I was in West Germany for 2 years in the 80s. A high school buddy of mine had already been there for 6 months and he asked me to play for a local German club team that he was on. Think of a men’s rec league. These were experienced players but nothing special and certainly not pro or semi-pro. Before I could play, I had to get a photo ID from the German governing body and sign a contract that contained rules on how and when I could change teams. It was nuts. I just wanted some exercise. Some of the better players in our league moved up to higher leagues (see attachment). The players who make the Bundesliga and the National Team are the best of hundreds of thousands of players. It’s unbelievsbly organized and it’s all focused on moving players up the pyramid.

The US will never seriously compete for the WC until we create a similar system and all those football players turn to soccer.