{"id":5898,"date":"2026-06-29T23:05:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T23:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898"},"modified":"2026-06-29T23:05:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T23:05:37","slug":"wednesdays-world-cup-match-a-chance-for-americans-to-snap-0-for-europe-soccer-streak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898","title":{"rendered":"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter was asked after last week\u2019s 3-2 World Cup loss to Turkey why the U.S. men struggle so mightily against European opposition.<\/p>\n

Read more World Cup: Pochettino has instilled belief within US team, and across the country<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cUmmmm,\u201d Berhalter said, pausing, \u201cI\u2019ll have to get back to you on that. I\u2019m not sure of the stats.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stats: The Turkey loss was their 10th straight \u2014 no wins, no ties \u2014 in friendlies or official matches against European teams. In the World Cup, the Yanks have faced 21 European opponents since 1990 and, gulp, won only once, a 3-2 decision against Portugal in 2002 that was aided by an own goal on a Landon Donovan cross that fortuitously deflected off the back of a defender\u2019s neck into the net.<\/p>\n

Informed of the grim history, Berhalter politely smiled and, his five-minute interview session expired, walked off the podium.<\/p>\n

It is an inconvenient truth that U.S. players either don\u2019t know or don\u2019t want to know but is suddenly consequential with a round of 32 date against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night in Santa Clara. And likely three more European foes waiting for them in the round of 16 (Belgium), quarterfinals (Spain) and semifinals (France).<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know it until you said it,\u201d midfielder Tyler Adams said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t care less if we had a 100-game winning streak or a 100-game losing streak. I go out every game trying to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn, I didn\u2019t know that,\u201d defender Chris Richards said. \u201cLet\u2019s hope we change that for the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are three viable explanations.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rub of the green<\/h4>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things,\u201d defender Tim Ream said curtly after watching the U.S. reserves commit multiple defensive blunders in surrendering a last-minute goal against Turkey. \u201cNone of us are thinking, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s a European team, we\u2019re going to lose.\u2019 It\u2019s just one of those things.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to say it\u2019s a coincidence, but stylistically, it\u2019s not even about style. It\u2019s just rub of the green and just the way the ball is falling right now for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a lot of bad bounces, though.<\/p>\n

In the World Cup since 1990, the Yanks are 1-15-5 against European teams. Against everyone else, they are 7-4-1.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Since the start of the 2022 World Cup, they are 0-10-2 in all matches against European teams, including two draws in the group stage and a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16 in Qatar followed by nine consecutive Ls since. Against everyone else, they are 30-10-9 over that period.<\/p>\n

Since coach Mauricio Pochettino was hired in October 2024, the United States has lost all six European encounters and been outscored 18-6.<\/p>\n

Europe is just good<\/h4>\n

Maybe the most logical explanation is that, well, Europe is really, really good at soccer.<\/p>\n

Read more Collins challenges Fishback\u2019s candidacy, says he should be off the ballot<\/a><\/p>\n

The continent has claimed four of the last five World Cup titles (by four different countries that all border one another). It holds nine of the top 14 spots in the current FIFA world rankings. It has the top five World Cup rosters based on total transfer valuation and eight of the top 10, which isn\u2019t surprising because the top five richest pro leagues are all in Europe.<\/p>\n

There are a record 16 European teams at this expanded World Cup, up from 13 in past tournaments, and that doesn\u2019t include No. 14-ranked Italy, No. 20 Denmark and six others in the top 40.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are USA,\u201d Pochettino said last spring, in a moment of frustration and candor, after getting drilled by Belgium and Portugal in friendlies by a combined 7-2. \u201cWe are competing against Belgium, Portugal. I think for sure Belgium and Portugal have, in the top 100 players, a few or some players playing in that top 100.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we don\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The counterargument is that not everyone struggles against the Old Continent. Japan, which has never won in the World Cup knockout stage, currently has an 11-match unbeaten streak against European teams. They\u2019ve won eight times and tied three times.<\/p>\n

Horses for courses<\/h4>\n

That leaves something stylistically, something in the size, strength, fitness, organization, tactical sophistication, youth development or historical pedigree of European teams. The simple answer is that the U.S. men play a style of soccer more similar to European clubs than their brethren in the Americas, and the Europeans are just better at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you think about European teams, you think about more technique and technical ability,\u201d Richards said. \u201cWhen you think about South American and African teams, you think about more mentality.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe there\u2019s something there, or maybe we\u2019ve just been unlucky. I haven\u2019t really thought about it, to be fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

The good news is that the Americans are facing Bosnia and Herzegovina instead of, say, any other European team here. The Balkan country of 3.1 million with a land area slightly smaller than West Virginia is the lowest-ranked European team here at No. 61, squeaked into the knockout stage by finishing third in Group B despite getting smoked 4-1 by Switzerland, has qualified for just two of eight World Cups since joining FIFA as an independent nation and has never reached the round of 16.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the last European team the Yanks beat, 1-0 at Carson\u2019s Dignity Health Sports Park on Dec. 18, 2021.<\/p>\n

Even that wasn\u2019t easy. It took an 89-minute goal by Cole Bassett to beat what amounted to a Bosnian B team on home soil.<\/p>\n

After that, there were draws against Wales and England in the 2022 World Cup.<\/p>\n

Then loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss, loss.<\/p>\n

The Netherlands, Serbia, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, Germany again, Turkey again.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, streaks are meant to be broken,\u201d Richards said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Gabriel Martinelli scores late in injury time to help Brazil beat Japan 2-1 at World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

USMNT has one win against European opponents in World Cups since 1990<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nWednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"USMNT has one win against European opponents in World Cups since 1990\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T23:05:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T23:05:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898\"},\"wordCount\":1016,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/076ab129ccfc1ec76ff73151b10fa5a5.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Soccer\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898\",\"name\":\"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/076ab129ccfc1ec76ff73151b10fa5a5.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T23:05:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/076ab129ccfc1ec76ff73151b10fa5a5.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/076ab129ccfc1ec76ff73151b10fa5a5.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":709},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=5898#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"USMNT has one win against European opponents in World Cups since 1990","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-29T23:05:37+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak","datePublished":"2026-06-29T23:05:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898"},"wordCount":1016,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/076ab129ccfc1ec76ff73151b10fa5a5.webp","articleSection":["Soccer","Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898","name":"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/076ab129ccfc1ec76ff73151b10fa5a5.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-29T23:05:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/076ab129ccfc1ec76ff73151b10fa5a5.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/076ab129ccfc1ec76ff73151b10fa5a5.webp","width":1024,"height":709},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5898#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Wednesday\u2019s World Cup match a chance for Americans to snap 0-for-Europe soccer streak"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}