re: This is why soccer will never take off in this country.

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High school and college soccer in the US

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This is the number one difference between US and the rest of the world. I assume it has slightly changed recently but the idea of a promising 18 year old going to university and studying while playing is ridiculed here. You are in academies being a full time player.

My 16 year old nephew has just got on a scholarship at a club in the UK, he will be moving and in someways living like a college kid for two years but the idea is he will be in full time training with a tutor afterwards. The club is probably 6th tier in England; that sort of dedicated coaching goes deep into the roots of the game and isn't just an elite level club option.

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High school and college soccer in the US is a MUCH more physical sport than what is played professionally or internationally. I don't know what happens between the college level and playing professionally, but the sport becomes much more about finesse and crisp ball control than sheer physicality like the lower levels in the US.

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No matter how big, strong, or fast you are you aren’t going to out run the ball. There’s no such thing as high school and college soccer anywhere else, at least not in the competitive sense the way we view it, because by that age all of the best players have been in academies getting real skill development.

There’s never been widespread support for soccer in this country. MLS has a niche market, but it will never compete with the NFL or college football.

All that said, I’ve rarely watched any soccer however I’ve had some interest in the World Cup. From what I’ve seen m, the US had little chance against Spain, let alone France, Argentina, England etc.

Yeah we don’t need Latinos that is the problem with US soccer. The vast majority of Latino immigrants in the US come from Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. Feel free to list the last time either of those teams won the World Cup. Argentina plays European style physical soccer and they aren’t marching across our Southern border and Brazil speaks Portuguese so who exactly are you referring to? Seven of the Eight remaining teams are European, we aren’t beating them with a Latino squad