Whether the United States depart the Middle East having accomplished Gregg Berhalter’s clearly articulated goal of changing the way the world perceives American soccer is an open question.
The overall result following Saturday’s defeat to the Netherlands, which laid bare just how far the Americans have to go before contending with the world’s elite, doesn’t offer a clear answer. After surpassing the tempered expectations of supporters back home by getting out of a tough group but falling short of their own lofty goals, the wholly reconstructed US team made it exactly as far as their previous two appearances at the tournament: to the last 16 and out.
