The United States is out of the 2018 World Cup with embarrassing loss

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October 11, 2017 3:27 AM

With control of their own destiny, the United States Men's National Team weren't able to do enough to secure a ticket to the 2018 World Cup.

The United States Men's National Team are out of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It's the first time since 1986 that the team will miss out on the tournament.

Needing only a draw to punch their ticket to Russia, the USMNT traveled to Trinidad & Tobago for their final game of World Cup qualification. Before the night's games, both Honduras and Panama were in striking distance to jump the Americans, but a win would still send the USMNT through to Russia.

The only way the Americans could be eliminated is if they lost and both Honduras and Panama won. That is exactly what happened Tuesday night.

Despite beating Trinidad & Tobago 6-0 earlier in the qualification round, the Americans went down 1-0 early in Tuesday night's contest thanks to an own goal from defender Omar Gonzalez.

That was followed by a long-range strike from Trinidad & Tobago's Alvin Jones that rocketed past goalkeeper Tim Howard and made it 2-0.

While the American wunderkind Christian Pulisic was able to earn a goal early in the second half, the USMNT weren't able to pull level and were eliminated after both Honduras and Panama won their games to jump the Americans in the CONCACAF qualifying table.

The Americans were also the victims of bad luck, as Panama's winning goal should have never counted. Replays showed that it never cleared the line.

The veteran Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl may have best summed up the significance of this loss:

"The United States has been eliminated from World Cup 2018," Wahl wrote. "The most surreal and embarrassing night in US soccer history."

After qualifying for seven straight World Cup tournaments, the Americans will now have to wait until at least 2022 before they can play on the biggest stage in soccer. Once the game went final and the reality of the situation began to dawn on the players, they were quick to share their disappointment in their play.

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