By: Victor Olorunfemi

If you are a United States Men's National Team fan, I have some good news. This is the worst the national team will ever be. I am serious. The talent coming down the pipeline, and more importantly, the systems developing those talents, are increasingly on par with elite global standards.

Before you read this article, I want you to suspend your preconceived notions about youth soccer in America and why this nation will never be competitive. Put aside the beliefs that lead you to that conclusion, whether it is how the best athletes play other sports, pay to play is too great of a barrier, or that no country that calls the sport 'soccer' can ever prosper. Give me a neutral opportunity to convince you that the national team is heading for unprecedented success.

With that out of the way, let's give an objective truth. American academies are competing with and beating elite international clubs at record rates.

Take the Generation Adidas Cup, an annual youth soccer tournament where many of the world's best academies come to the United States. It is where the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Julian Alvarez, Paqueta, Enzo Fernandez, Bradley Barcola, and Malo Gusto first showcased their talents to a global audience. From 2014, when international academies were first invited, to 2018, no MLS academy won the trophy, and only one reached a final. Argentine powerhouse River Plate, on three occasions, Flamengo of Brazil once, and Stoke City of England, won the titles.

MLS academies were nowhere to be found and were far below the required level. That has changed.

An MLS team has won six of the last seven GA trophies, first with the Seattle Sounders in 2019 and five more since the tournament expanded to the U15 and U17 age groups in 2022. In the previous two years alone, eye-catching results include Philadelphia Union U15 defeating Arsenal and Real Madrid, added to Atlanta United U15 blowing out a Manchester United team with Wayne Rooney's son, Kai, by a 4-0 scoreline.

And if that seems like cherry-picking from the younger age group, consider the Philadelphia Union run to win the latest U17 trophy. They defeated Atlas of Mexico in the group stage. Following that was a round-of-16 match with South Korean powerhouse Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and their roster containing multiple players from the country's youth national team. The Union won 1-0. Next was a 4-2 victory over the Hajduk Split academy from Croatia and a 2-0 semi-final shutout of Flamengo, widely considered one of the academies on the planet. The championship was a penalty shootout victory over an LA Galaxy team that defeated CF Monterrey and River Plate en route to the final. In that impressive run to win a second consecutive U17 GA title, the only blemish was a 2-0 group stage loss to fellow MLS academy, FC Cincinnati.

What is the secret that has spurred that change in fortune? Well, believe it or not, MLS academies are starting to be excellent at what they do.

Many MLS franchises have shown a desire to invest in what it takes to mimic the experts of elite youth development. Whether it is a club like the Philadelphia Union poaching Ernst Tanner, one of the world's best technical directors in 2018. Or Saint Louis City SC hiring Luiz Pfannenstiel, a seasoned European scout, to be their sporting director in 2020.

The result is a massive generation of exceptional prospects that is not reliant on one golden egg to save the country like a Christian Pulisic or a Landon Donovan.

• Sure, you may have heard of Cavan Sullivan, the youngest MLS player in history, who has already committed his future to Manchester City. But he is not alone. 

• There is Mathis Albert, a 15-year-old who just left the LA Galaxy to join Borussia Dortmund.

• Neil Pierre, a 16-year-old centerback with the Union that European clubs are salivating over.

• Nimfasha Berchimas, who lit the 2023 U17 World Cup on fire at 15-years-old.

• Julian Hall, a 16-year-old that has already scored multiple MLS goals.

• And Robert Turdean, a 2010-born Chicago Fire product that shined at the U15 MLS Next Cup.

That is just naming a few. Go to any region of the country, and you will find multiple American prospects that professional scouts are drooling over. That has never been the case at any other point in U.S. history. The national team is no longer ultra-reliant on one generational prospect to save the day. There is a packed pipeline of plenty to choose from who could ultimately become that world-beater.

Don't believe me? Well, take it from Manchester City. Sullivan has a European passport, meaning the global giants could have insisted that the prospect they invested millions to purchase must move to England to own his craft. Instead, Manchester City is allowing the 14-year-old to stay with the Philadelphia Union, evidence of their belief the club's youth academy is reliable and trustworthy enough to foster the growth of a generational prospect. After all, Manchester City does have extensive knowledge of the American system as part of an ownership umbrella with New York City FC, another MLS club it has utilized to develop talent.

And that is precisely why I believe this is the worst the men's national team will be. To be a truly elite footballing nation, a country must develop its own talents at home. It can't rely on seducing foreign-born dual-internationals, it can't hope some European academy will do the job. It must have an extensive and varied source of clubs that produce and develop talent at an elite clip. The United States has that varied fountain of talent for the first time.

I hope I have convinced you to believe what I believe that American soccer is heading for prosperity. And if you don't right now, I have faith that in the coming years, the on-field results will give you no option.