That’s nice to think so but you’re being kind. I have no confidence in this side against good competition. If we were in a WC group I couldn’t see us going through.
Oh, 100%. The USMNT would be significant underdogs to get out of any WC group right now. And if we get to the final, Mexico is going to eat our midfield alive.
Taking a longer view, it's no surprise to see the US look underwhelming. Berhalter, of course, is not above criticism, but the die was cast long ago when a sizable generation of players just didn't develop. The US was always going to be some flavor of blah in 2019.
In terms of the player pool, it's all upside from here. Very few important players will age out between now and 2022, or even 2026 really. Our YNTs have been fairly successful for several two-year cycles now and there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic over the medium term. I don't think we'll see anything specifically on the USMNT level that will get people especially excited until 2021 or so.
I really hope we qualify for the Olympics in 2020. The U23 pool is deep and it could be a nice morale-booster and coming-out-party for a cohort of players who will completely take over the full NT soon. (Of course, the USSF has done a crap job of preparation for qualifiers this fall, as usual.)