The United States men’s national team came in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with hopes of redeeming itself after missing out on the 2018 tournament entirely. Though Gregg Berhalter’s squad may have done that, the USMNT continued an unfortunate streak with Saturday’s round-of-16 loss to the Netherlands.
Following a 3–1 defeat to a poised Dutch side, the drought for the USMNT not making it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup extended to two decades. The last time a U.S. men’s team made it out of the round of 16 was at the 2002 tournament in South Korea.
The 2002 squad, led by U.S. greats Landon Donovan, Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna, advanced out of the group before taking down Mexico in the round of 16. The Americans eventually ran into a talented Germany squad, which would go onto make the final, and lost 1–0 in their quarterfinal match.
