To be better than The Netherlands, Belgium, Uruguay and Portugal? Not really given the money and resources being pumped in. A few upgrades down the spine and a couple of global superstars and we're there.
A couple of global superstars! Easy-peasy! No... my point would be, you're not competing against a random 4 "top" sides who are clearly not top 5-6 to be considered "top 10". You're competing against the next 10 or whatever sides who, at any given moment, have the infrastructure, the culture, and the appetite to be able to pop up into that top 10. We're talking about cultures that have already produced world class superstars. The US hasn't. So why would the US do that before they do it again? I'm talking about all of Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Uruguay, Colombia, Portugal, Croatia... and that's conservative. Chile has previously/recently done things arguably much better than anything from the US in modern times. They've produced a better player than has ever played for the US. Denmark & Switzerland, they've created more near-world class players than the US has. So, we're actually not talking about the US improving and being "better than" the 4 teams you listed; we're talking about a parlay between betting on the US developing significantly, and also betting against that field developing just as well. That's what I think is lofty. You're not competing against 4, you're competing against 10-12 football-rabid cultures who have already in many ways done better at developing talent.
We don't know what the future has for us. Japan and Morocco also have little history but are improving fast to the point where I would consider them as good as or better than Belgium, Uruguay, Portugal, etc. There's still a lot of time and a lot can happen in 76 years. I think we can start developing world-class or elite players in the next 20 to 30 years consistently just by the way we are improving. To the point where we can have a top soccer roster. The rest falls into luck. Every things comes down to luck.
I agree. All I'm saying is it's a big leap, from top 20 to top 10. Current top 10 ain't going anywhere!
Right now? Mostly the usual suspects, I'd guess... Brazil, France, Spain, Argentina, Germany, England, Colombia, Portugal, Netherlands? There's 9. Who's next, Belgium? Italy? Any reason to expect US to leapfrog any of these guys for the foreseeable future? That's really what I mean by "not going anywhere"... the US can continue to develop players, but so can everyone else. And most of those competitors for "top 10" already evidently do it better than the US.
Sorry to have to point at a fatal difference between Morocco and the USA, considering Morocco's move forwards. Morocco isnot improving anything. The profit from the development qualities of the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain by recruting players, who actually are Dutch, Belgians etc. That's something the USA hasnot got. Dual nationals of top quality in those countries AND willing to skip a call from those countries.
Well we know the top 7, though Germany have slipped out the top 10 temporarily. Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and England. Then you have Netherlands, Belgium, Uruguay and Portugal but they can cycle in and out depending on the generation. The next group I'd suggest is Serbia, Colombia, Croatia, Morocco, Japan, South Korea, the US, Mexico and Switzerland. If Canada can produce Davies and David out of nowhere and Morocco can find foreign born players like Hakimi, Bounou and Ziyech, I don't see why the US can't, especially given the hundreds of $millions being invested. It just takes time but I'm convinced it will happen.
The US can... no one is saying otherwise. And so can the Netherlands, Belgium, Uruguay, Portugal, Serbia, Colombia, Croatia, Morocco, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Switzerland. Not to mention Denmark, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Bosnia, Chile, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ukraine, Turkey, and Sweden. Hard to crack that top 10! Lots of people been trying.
Morocco should be seen differently. Africa basically produces one top 10 side every 4-10 years and it constantly switches. Cameroon was really good in 90…Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, and Senegal have all had good teams. They all seem to get one group of players and then fade. Maybe more accurate would be one of the best 12 teams in the world is always from Africa in the last 35 years but no country is able to stay on top…
There are a lot of countries that can rely on other countries to develop their players. USA could be one but it's much better to create our players.
I think if we’re talking 30 years from now or something, if MLS can become a top 3 league in the world or so. That could be a real advantage for American players to have a home league of high qualify. I don’t think that’s necessarily unrealistic. I also think our coaching will improve relative to where it is now. We have plenty of reason to think we are still in position to be an ascending nation, even if other top nations continue to improve.
It won't be a top 3 League without access to the UCL because that's where the money is and that's where players want to play. It can be the best league outside the top 4 or 5.
30 years is a long time. We don't know what will happen to the Club World Cup. That could turn into a big tournament for clubs. An issue with MLS and NWSL is that there's not a big tournament for clubs. No UCL or Copa Libertadores. No one cares about the Leagues Cup when it's only in one country. If MLS could turn into Brasileiro Série A or Liga Profesional de Fútbol. That type of level now we are talking. We don't need a top 2 league, we need a respectful league
Even the top Brazilian and Argentinian teams get to play in a respected continental competition. The US is limited by its geography. The NWSL is arguably as respected as any other league but it has access to the world's best players, the best attendances, some "glamor" owners and probably the highest revenue of any women's league.
I disagree, but hear me out. MLS could go all the way to number 2 probably. What this would require is that the EPL get such a financial advantage that it moreless kills all the other European leagues. If you look at the financial state of the big 3 in Italy and Barca currently this isn’t that far off, but… Germany is healthy, Italy is on the rise, and Barca will eventually figure it out so currently 5th is probably the MLS ceiling, but there is no guarantee on the stability of several of the European leagues. But right now MLS isn’t even a top 10 league.
Not probably. I looked this up in another thread but very few women’s teams in Europe have an operating revenue over $1 million like 12 total teams. Every NWSL team has that so more than half of the best funded teams in the world are in the US (14 teams)
It's top 10 based on average team. The majority of leagues are dominated by between 2 and 4 teams. The rest are ho hum or USL material.
Slightly different because - NWSL is smaller - Half of of the best players in the world are North American - NWSL has the money to attract the best players in the world, even with a salary cap So more of the world's talent, split fewer ways, enables it to "compete" with the best leagues in Europe.