SOC: The current state of U.S. soccer with Julian Hinojosa
It’s no secret that soccer is not as popular in the Untied States compared to other countries. Matter of fact, we are the only country that calls it soccer as other countries call it futbol or football. To add insult to injury for the current state of soccer in the states, the United State men's national team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. That was the 11th time the U.S. men failed to qualify for the biggest tournament in the world. But on the flip side, the women started play in 1991 and have won the World Cup three times and at least finished in third, three times. That is the most of any women’s team. So the main problem is the men’s team. According to Sports Show, soccer is the 5th most popular sport in the United States behind football, baseball, basketball, and hockey.
We spoke with Julian Hinojosa, who committed to play for the University of North Carolina on April 9, 2018, and is scheduled to graduate from UNC in 2023. He said “I feel like soccer isn’t as popular in the U.S. because there (are) three other sports that are very popular. So kids have more options but in other countries soccer is the only sport." With that said, there's an argument against Hinojosa's case. Soccer might be the most popular sport in some other countries, but it's not the only option. Baseball is extremely popular in countries like the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, and more. I feel like the thing that separates the United States from other counties is the training and soccer academies, which is the U.S. has finally started to catch up on.
Players like Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid, who is just 18-years-old is playing in the Champions League which is the highest competition for most players. And Kylian Mbappe is a World Cup winner already at 20-years-old and being on the 3rd youngest team in the whole competition means France will likely be around for at least the next two eight years. The brightest spot for the USMNT is Christian Pulisic, who just got bought by Chelsea but played for BVB this year. So I think it will be important for the training and competition for United States to be better and to be able to compete with the best, but I do see a brighter future. Hinojosa agrees, as he stated: "I’m positive that the U.S. will get better in the next five years and will qualify for the next World Cup."
Hinojosa went on to add that the most recent U17 World Cup team did well and was able to beat some of the best teams in the world at that level. "That’s the future for the senior team which is why I feel the U.S. will qualify for the next World Cup," he said. "And now the U20 won CONCACAF and other U.S. youth national teams have won tournaments playing against top soccer countries." It remains the be seen whether or not soccer in the United States will become more competitive worldwide, but it's clear that the training has improved in recent years. As for Hinojosa specifically, he told us that his goals are to continue getting called up until he is apart of the national team. "Of course my main goal is to go pro," he explained. "I feel like UNC will prepare me to go pro."
Photo Credit: Gotham Sports.
