At this point, a championship is all that matters. The USMNT has no other alternative. Why? They're in the best situation they could possibly be in: They're the underdog. There's no problem with any result. A win in the World Cup is only a bonus, whereas it's an expectation with Germany. They have everything to lose. So does Italy, Argentina and England. The US has nothing to lose. Being the underdog is the perfect position for America, and the current state of soccer in the country. The mental stress is down, as a result the team should play with confidence and rhythm. But, in the back of their minds, winning the whole thing should be a real ambition (as opposed to past efforts wherein the teams from 1990-2014, with coaches ranging from Sampson to Arena to Klinsmann, were told - by the entire world - to realistically accept their fate). In this way, the US should sneak past the expected winners while they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Let England, Italy and Germany have all the expectations, as the US rolls past with absolutely nothing to lose. 
   The qualification rounds might be difficult, they should be difficult, just as the European competition is not secure for any one team. Sure, the US is in CONCACAF, the forgotten division, but nothing's guaranteed. The long haul of qualifications should serve as the perfect warm-up round for the US to overcome the odds in the next World Cup. They've got to play like underdogs, but think championship. The odds are against them, but it's possible. Anything's possible. 

Justin Bieber could help the US men's national team (USMNT) win the World Cup. FIFA would first have to install a rule stipulating that all teams must assign one pop-star, from each country, with at least one musical hit. Even though the Biebs was born in Canada, he's basically American. And probably received citizenship by now. Either way, FIFA should let that slide. Furthermore, Bieber has trained with FC Barcelona and Chelsea - he's got the rhythm of the game. Can he do it? Could he lead the USMNT to victory? Check back for more details...

Book Signings: 
November 28, 2015, St. Louis, MO, The Bookhouse, 4PM
December 4, 2015 Madison WI, Rainbow Bookstore 4PM
December 6, 2015 Chicago IL, Uncharted Bookstore 4PM
December 12, 2015 Des Moines IA, Beaverdale Booksstore 2PM
January 9, 2016, Minneapolis-Saint Paul MN, Subtext Books, 4PM

Book Excerpt from Why American Soccer Isn't There Yet:

The United States is a place of great athleticism, and this is best exemplified in the NBA. We spawn the best basketball players in the world who play with flair and creativity based in the cornerstone of sound fundamentals. The NBA resembles a culture close to that of Brazilian soccer. When you put out five basketball players with all the one-on-one street skills in their personal arsenal and mesh them into a fundamental passing unit, they can break down opponents strategically. But at anytime they have the individual talent to sparkle and shine and effectively finish a basket... Which can be the new future of American soccer. With time and effort, the United States will be World Cup champions, but not without a lot of change. 
  

Awaiting the new Presidential election on February 26, 2016, FIFA still has to contend with more accusations, not to mention a stubborn Sepp Blatter, maintaining his innocence. The FIFA turmoil has now gone from Spring to Winter. Most people are nestled away somewhere, walled in from the winds, hopefully hiding from the cold to come, that shrieking breeze sneaking in through the cracks in your doors, all while your heater is on the fritz not wanting to co-operate. You don't want to touch the heater, because that's not your job. It's a piece of equipment you know nothing about, and, by golly, you'd rather not know anything about it. If there's a problem, you hire the guy that fixes heaters. That's his job. He knows about propane and nozzles and wrenches and things that you'd prefer to act like you know something about, yet, deep down, you're a complete charlatan. You know it. We know it. We're all that person on some level. There are some things we know nothing about, and we like it that way. 
   Things are good now; that wind hasn't arrived yet. It hasn't said its name out loud, followed by "No funny stuff," to which you think, What in the world is this wind trying to prove? Why me? It's not there yet...you're fine, watching Sports Center, maybe flipping past PBS or CNN, then Fox, just to see what's up. Or, you've been at Fox the whole time, flipping to MSNBC, just to see what's going on. Either way, you might pass by an update on FIFA, all the trouble they're in. That's a storm that keeps building each and every day around their walls - large, comforting walls that are well insulated with the latest technology on such things...with fire places that would make Harry Truman proud, and FDR, and Ronald Reagan...a real man's fire place; the kind you can have earth-changing discussions around, with pipes. Don't forget the pipes. "I don't want to cause a stir," said Sepp Blatter on not attending the Women's FIFA World Cup in Canada, afraid he might get arrested on Canadian soil, which has an extradition agreement with their southern neighbor, the friendly group of people, currently headed at one end by Loretta Lynch, of the US Department of Justice, intent on getting Blatter to trial, to make amends for the "wrong" he is accused of doing. Not to mention his cohorts, the former FIFA Executives who've been outed in public as the money laundering, back-rooming, cash-hand-off types they are...arrested in Switzerland on that famous morning earlier this year. Their time is idle, waiting for the clock to tick on their fate, whatever that may be from the arms of justice led by Miss Lynch, the FBI and IRS. Things keep progressing in aberrant ways contrary to the wishes of Blatter, recently suspended by FIFA. "About time," so many fans have murmured. 
   Not to mention the possible fate of Russia 2018 being stripped from Putin's control. Parts of Ukraine are at odds with other parts, thanks to a Russian intervention, siding up, splitting things down the middle, or in jagged edges; any which way but normal. Common opinion assumes political misbehavior by Russia (with overwhelming aggression so near to the Cup) will cause a re-vote for World Cup 2018, as most think should be the case, anyway. "How illegitimate it was!" people are saying. "Let's re-vote!" They cheated and never should have gotten it, is the thought Lynch has to prove, with time ticking away at her clock. It would be a grave cost to the Russian people, their pride, their economy for a summer if this were to happen. Many critics say the economic boom is a paper-tiger, giving a small boost, maybe, but leaving no longterm job security in place; another topic for another time. How could it actually come to be? Save your thoughts on FIFA, as things will move on. For now, it, the World Cup, will be in Russia. Right where the vote put it. 

Where is the Women's national team going? Following the highs of the 2015 World Cup the question has to come up. This goes for any position, really. The future of the team relies on good players coming up through the college system. In response to what college prospect is geared to take over the central defender position, the answer is easy: Christen Westphal. The Florida University defender has skill and technique similar to Aly Wagner, controlling the backline with ease like Beckenbauer and Franco Baresi, while extremely smart and gifted. Expect to see her leading the national team, with good results, soon.
   On the men's side, the future rests - or should rest - in the hands of Caleb Porter, the obvious choice as the next USMNT coach. Watching his teams play from his college coaching days in Ohio, to the Portland Timbers, they not only win, but win playing a better style than their opponent. The opposition have the same caliber of athletes, but they haven't been tweaked in practice the right way. What is the right way? That is a debate that may go on for eternity. (After all, there  have even been critics of Barcelona's tickee-tacka style). Porter manages to get the best out of his players, as they work well together, play across the field with finesse, interlace short passes at a higher level, creating a higher standard of eye pleasing play for any afficianado or novice to see.