US soccer is controlled by hedge fund billionaires Ken Griffin & Scott Goodwin, who provided the $6M/year salary for Mauricio Pochettino. Now that the USMNT has disgracefully crashed out of the 2026 World Cup, it’s decision time for everyone involved.

The problem for the USMNT wasn’t Mauricio Pochettino, but he’ll make a convenient scapegoat when it’s all over. The biggest issue for the USMNT during the World Cup was Trump’s belligerent intervention with FIFA to lift Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension. Two US soccer officials were suspended by FIFA ahead of the USMNT’s game against Belgium– team manager Sam Zapatka and US soccer vice president of security Frank Pannell– who worked for the Secret Service & CIA before a career in private security. What are these people doing in US soccer? What do they have to say about their actions? Is there ANY accountability here?

These type of people aren’t helping the USMNT win. They are part of the problem, meddling where they aren’t wanted or needed. Zapatka & Pannell were the USMNT proxies that worked with Trump in lobbying FIFA before the Belgium match. They did it secretly, hoping they wouldn’t be exposed, but when FIFA suspended them, they were outed. This was done because FIFA boss Gianni Infantino doesn’t like having his pants pulled-down in front of the world.

The other problem for the USMNT was too much hype over players who aren’t good enough. This particularly involved Fox sports, who are covering the World Cup and had a vested interest in shamelessly promoting the USMNT. After losing 4-1 to Belgium, Fox largely went silent on the USMNT performance to cover their tracks.

I have made my recommendations for US soccer, but I don’t think anyone in charge has the slightest inclination to do what’s necessary to get the USMNT into a position where it can actually compete at the World Cup. These are billionaires making all the critical decisions, and they act as if they know everything already. Any good ideas that aren’t their own are disregarded. It’s all about egos and who calls the shots. In a nutshell, this is why the USMNT loses.

These rotten politics have existed in US soccer since it began in the 1980’s. It’s how Alexi Lalas became a “key guy” for the USMNT in 1994 & 1998. There has always been a lot of potential for US soccer, but it’s being choked-off by billionaire money that dictates everything from policy to player & coach selection. Personal favorites & recognized names still dominate a USMNT roster which produces nothing but mediocre results.

Top international players have year-round football camps in the US. The idea is to create new players from the US diaspora. Most of these young players aren’t good enough to play for their national teams in France, Spain, etc, but would be more than good enough to play for the USMNT. US soccer needs to open up its minds, and everything else, to these kinds of ideas.

Most of the US soccer hierarchy is only interested in protecting its perks & privileges. Once every four years it has to face-the-music at the men’s World Cup. After every disappointment, their idea is to sweep all these deeper issues under the rug and continue on as before. As things stand, that’s what awaits the USMNT in the 2030 World Cup.

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Have you noticed how few former US players are involved in US soccer leadership? A glance through the US Soccer Federation (USSF) board reveals a bunch of bureaucrats who never played much. These are the people in charge of US soccer. The USSF board is thoroughly comprised of bureaucrats, politicians & former fringe players who do what they are told. There is no one here with the spine needed to tell an ignorant billionaire he is wrong.

Where are Carli Lloyd, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Alex Morgan, etc? These are the names US soccer fans recognize & respect. Clearly their services aren’t wanted by the USSF. That explains why these soccer talents are now analysts on television, or retired from the game. The USSF is mostly interested in enriching itself. Producing a competitive USMNT hasn’t been a priority for the USSF. The results speak to that.

Current USMNT goalkeeper Matt Freese is a “Athletic Representative” on the USSF board, which makes me wonder why Kasey Keller & Tim Howard aren’t. The USSF smacks of favoritism, cronyism & mediocrity in its ranks. It’s a rotten bureaucracy, like all the rest, and it needs to be replaced with something that actually represents the best in US soccer/football. That’s the only path to World Cup success for the USMNT.

* The controversial decision to waive Folarin Balogun’s red-card suspension in the World Cup was made solely by FIFA disciplinary chair Mohammad al-Kamali, without input from any of the 17 other members of his committee, The Times of London reported Sunday. I initially described the “FIFA disciplinary committee” as a smokescreen, and here it is. That completes the loop and anyone can connect the dots. Of course, these conspirators will all deny their involvement & minimize the significance, that’s the FIFA & American way.

In summary, US President Donald Trump decided to intervene in Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension by contacting FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, who went directly to the disciplinary committee chair Mohammad al-Kamali, who ruled in favor of the USMNT without consulting any other member of the 18-person disciplinary panel. It’s still unclear at what point US soccer VP Sam Zapatka & CIA security guy Frank Pannell got involved, and what exactly their roles were. Was using Trump to strong-arm Gianni Infantino their idea, or Trump’s? Who first brokered this really bad idea? Unsurprisingly, no one involved is commenting.

It’s also interesting to note that it’s the Times of London who investigated & published this FIFA disciplinary committee fraud revelation. It wasn’t Fox or ESPN discovering these facts. Does that surprise you? ESPN hasn’t given us much on US soccer VP Sam Zapatka & CIA security guy Frank Pannell either. Those are some uncomfortable questions that need to be asked, so they don’t get asked. They get away with no comment and move on. It’s been very hush-hush for the USSF since this murky Trump-FIFA affair came to light.

Mon 13 Jul 2026 08:12 PM CDT

According to Google AI, Fox has decided on John Strong-Stu Holden as the broadcasters for both semi-final matches. This cheats World Cup fans watching in the US. Ian Darke-Landon Donovan are Fox’s best team, followed by Darren Fletcher-Owen Hargreaves. Derek Rae-Rob Green are better than Strong-Holden. This is Fox promoting its MLS announcers. It’s called soccer. It’s disrespectful to bring Ian Darke overseas for your World Cup broadcast team, only to sideline him at the end. It’s like benching Wayne Gretzky for the Stanley Cup finals, and it’s just another ignorant Fox executive decision.

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A record smashing 42 million Americans tuned-in to see the USMNT humiliate itself in its 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round-of-16. Fox pumped up the hype, but when the bubble burst, Fox quickly went back into its reactionary shell. There has been no serious analysis from the aforementioned ex-national team players whom Fox pays to analyze what happened. Fox doesn’t allow it, so apparently this World Cup is supposed to fizzle out as far as the USMNT goes.

I’ve seen nothing close to my level of serious inquest towards the USMNT & USSF anywhere in the US corporate media. Everyone there is content to vent for a few days and then go on making money, regardless of results. I’ll be leaving this World Cup more convinced than ever that there is no hope for the USMNT. It’s a lie & a fraud from top to bottom. You just can’t win with these people.

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