It happened again. The U.S. is not sending a team to compete at the Olympic Games in men’s soccer once again this summer. This is the third Olympic Games in a row that USA failed to qualify. 

Honduras was once again the team that sent USA home from the qualifying event. Honduras beat USA 2-1 on Sunday. Honduras has now beat USA three times in a row at this level. And the USA men’s program has failed to qualify for the last three major international competitions - 2016 Olympic Games, 2018 Men’s World Cup, and the 2020 Olympic Games. 

Honduras deserved the lead in the first half. USA generated nothing going forward including no shots on goal. 

Juan Carlos Obregón, a U.S. born striker, scored the opening goal for Honduras in the dying seconds of the first half on Sunday. The USA defense lost marks on a second ball following a set piece service. The header back across found Obregón open in front of net. David Ochoa did exceptionally well to recover for a block, but the momentum of the Honduras forward carried him and the ball over the line after a collision with Ochoa. 

Honduras took the 1-0 lead into the break. Kreis immediately brought on Sebastian Saucedo to start the second half. But it was Honduras that gained the advantage in the second half. 

Ochoa was in the spotlight on the second goal. Following a superb tournament for the Real Salt Lake goalkeeper, he had a massive blunder that left him in tears following the final whistle. He casually tried to play a pass forward but hit it right into the leg of Luis Palma, who blocked the pass into the goal to give Honduras a 2-0 lead early in the second half. 

In all seriousness though.

Is this a deepfake. pic.twitter.com/iW9PTMR3iV

— Will Parchman (@WillParchman) March 28, 2021

Jackson Yueill gave USA a glimmer of hope with a thunderbolt of a strike to pull back within one goal minutes after Honduras gained the extra advantage. It was the first goal of the tournament for the captain of the U.S. side. 

 

⚽️ ¡ GOAL @USYNT! 🇺🇸 Jackson Yueill shortens the difference! | #CMOQ pic.twitter.com/K3JfBgbV4m

— Concacaf (@Concacaf) March 28, 2021

Yueill was the story of the game. He went out of the tournament giving his all on the field. He generated two more clear chances for his side after the goal. The midfielder played a set piece to the far post that was headed back into the center by Jesús Ferreira. Jonathan Lewis had a golden chance with a header from eight yards out, but Honduras defender Wesley Decas saved the shot off the line. 

Yueill, the workhorse of the day, had the next chance as well. Lewis drew a foul just outside the 18-yard box. Yueill did well with the set piece to put a low shot on frame, but Honduras goalkeeper Alex Güity was better with a save to push it wide for a corner kick. It was the first save of the game for the goalkeeper in the 69th minute. 

USA looked at the bench to bring another spark to the team. Kreis brought on Tanner Tessman for the final 18 minutes of the game. 

Tessman’s golden moment came with six minutes left in the game. The FC Dallas man provided a perfect cross that found Lewis in front of the goal, but Lewis tangled himself up on the shot attempt and tripped over the ball. It was the best chance of the half  game for USA. 

Another late substitute Johnny had the last chance of the game for USA. The midfielder had a clean look off a corner kick from Yueill, but he could not get his header shot on frame. 

Ochoa was left in tears following the final whistle, but the Real Salt Lake goalkeeper is one of the few reasons that USA was even in the game on Sunday. His nine-save performance against Costa Rica earned the berth into the knock-out rounds. The mistake will haunt him, but he was not the reason that USA failed to qualify once again for a major international event.

Even in a game when USA was forced to chase the game for half of the contest, USA still trailed in shots and shots on goal. 

There will be plenty of questions about squad selection, tactical decisions, and such in the aftermath, as had been all too common with the USA failures in men’s soccer over the last decade - it’s been over a decade of disappointment for the U23 squad with the last appearance coming in 2008. 

Fox Sports commentator and former U.S. Men’s National Team star Alexi Lalas immediately went after MLS following the failure. Lalas bemoaned the decision of certain franchises to withhold players from the team - Atlanta United elected to keep three players with their team as they put a higher priority on the preseason/Concacaf Champions League than the Olympic qualifying event. Perhaps a closer look into the relationship between U.S. Soccer and MLS will help the growth of both entities. 

While the failure will sting, the longer burn will come with the realization that this has already happened in the past, and the response from the powers that be at U.S. Soccer was nothing. Around and around, we go.