Yedlin says U.S. team has built a foundation
DeAndre Yedlin was the only member of the U.S. roster who came to Qatar having played in a World Cup. He also was one of just two who started in the loss to Trinidad and Tobago that kept the United States out of the tournament four years ago. So Yedlin, perhaps more than anyone, was best positioned to talk about the progress the team has made in the last four years.
And his conclusion is this U.S. squad is a special group, despite Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Netherlands that knocked the Americans out of the tournament in the round of 16.
“This team has given a lot of people hope. People see the talent on this team, and they get excited,” Yedlin said. “As a group, we built a culture. We built a foundation. It’s very cohesive.”
Yedlin credited coach Gregg Berhalter and his staff for much of that.
“The hardest thing as a coach is to get everybody going in the same direction. I think he’s done that very well,” Yedlin said. “... We are always positive. We’re always looking forward.”
Despite that, this team, the youngest U.S. World Cup squad in a generation, didn’t get further than the last two American teams in the World Cup. But Yedlin said that’s part of the journey.
“The biggest thing is the group learned what it feels like to lose in a World Cup,” he said. “... Now they know that feeling of what it’s like to lose after putting so much into it. That can only fuel success.”
While Yedlin, 29, was looking forward, defender Tim Ream, 35, was looking back.
For Ream, the experience in Qatar was career defining. The oldest player on the U.S. team hadn’t been called up for 14 months and had given up on the World Cup before injuries opened a roster spot. He wound up playing every minute in the tournament.
“I’ve tried to convey to the guys [that] you’re never guaranteed anything in this game,” he said. “... I think it’s something that’s important, not taking anything for granted.”
As for what comes next, the United States opens its first training camp of the new World Cup cycle in six weeks, ahead of friendlies against Serbia at Banc of California Stadium and Colombia at Dignity Health Sports Park. Who will be in charge of that camp and those games is unknown. Berhalter’s contract expires this month, and neither the coach nor U.S. Soccer has indicated how negotiations are going.
But asked whether he believes the team has made progress over the last four years — and over the last three weeks in Qatar — the coach was unequivocal.
“I do feel like we’ve made progress,” he said. “... Now it’s about how do we keep that up and take it to another level.”
U.S. men boost Fox
Fox’s audience for Saturday’s U.S. game averaged 12.97 million viewers, peaking at 16.4 million in the final minutes despite the earlymorning start. The game kicked off at 7 a.m. Pacific.
The match drew 3.58 million viewers to Telemundo and streaming services Peacock and the Telemundo Deportes app.
Fox averaged 11.7 million viewers for the American team’s three group-play matches, beating the 10.6 million that ESPN averaged in 2014, when the United States previously played in a World Cup.