WHY CRUSHING LOSS MAY HELP MEN’S SOCCER TEAM

It was tempting to see big U.S. strides in soccer, but the failure in World Cup qualifying shows we’re not a major player yet.

In extra time of the 1966 World Cup final, Tofiq Bahramov — known to history as “The Russian Linesman,” though he was Azerbaijani — signaled that Geoff Hurst’s shot off the crossbar had landed behind the West German goal line. The Germans disputed it then, now and forever. A story, perhaps apocryphal, holds that Bahramov was asked on his deathbed how he knew the goal was good. “Stalingrad,” he said.

If not for Hurst’s winner, the nation that invented the sport would still be seeking its first major soccer triumph. (As is, England has gone only the past 61 years without doing much of anything.) File this truism under “D,” for “Duh”:

In soccer, goals change games. Sometimes a goal changes much more.

In the span of two hours Tuesday night, four goals changed everything for U.S. soccer. Against Trinidad and Tobago, Omar Gonzalez deflected a shot past Tim Howard, the own goal putting the Americans in a hole from which they couldn’t recover. Also: Romell Quioto, who plays for Houston of the MLS, beat Mexico’s offside trap to give Honduras a 3-2 lead. Also: Panama’s Roman Torres, who plays for Seattle of the MLS, scored in the 88th minute to beat Costa Rica 2-1. Also: Panama’s first goal never crossed the line. Shades

ASHLEY ALLEN / GETTY IMAGES There will be no World Cup appearance for Christian Pulisic and the United States after Tuesday night’s stunning loss to Trinidad and Tobago. The U.S. only needed a tie to advance.