“WHAT ARE WE DOING!?” Taylor Twellman on the Rebirth of the USMNT

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 30 March 2022

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the fall of 2017, the US Men’s National Soccer Team lost a decisive qualifying match against Trinidad & Tobago, and with it, a spot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It was a humiliating defeat for a team that hadn’t missed a World Cup since 1986. Afterwards, ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman delivered an epic rant, blasting the culture of US Soccer that, in his view, had grown complacent and arrogant. Now, more than four years later, the Americans are on the cusp of redemption. Barring a complete blowout loss tonight against Costa Rica, the Americans can book their ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Taylor Twellman explains how the USMNT has changed their ways following the debacle in Trinidad, and what we can expect from a young roster that appears to be just getting started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	ESPN Daily is presented by supercuts, the smarter, easier way to get a haircut.
0:06.7	It's not just any haircut, it's supercuts.
0:11.0	Taylor Twelman, I need you to just jump in this time machine with me here
0:14.6	because I'm setting the dials for October 10th, 2017.
0:20.1	It is a rainy night in Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. men's national team.
0:25.1	They need a winner, a draw to qualify for the World Cup, but instead, this happens.
0:33.2	It's done. It's over. It is over. Trinidad, with nothing to play for.
0:40.8	Has dethroned the United States, knocking them out of the World Cup 2018.
0:48.8	What do you remember feeling after this loss?
0:52.1	How do I explain this to you, buddy?
0:55.1	Taylor Twelman played for the U.S. men's national team from 2002 to 2008, and he's now a soccer
1:01.8	analyst and play-by-play guy for ESPN.
1:04.8	There's two ways to explain it.
1:06.5	I can explain it to you from the personal level of, I planned a bucketless golf trip in the
1:13.6	Hamptons for the following day because I was thinking public here's what I'm thinking like
1:18.2	I'm already in Bristol I love fall golf I definitely want to play shinnock I haven't played
1:24.5	national golf link so I'm doing the whole thing. I got all my buddies down
1:28.0	there. We got 12 guys going. 11 already down there. The one is in Bristol, Connecticut,
1:33.8	planning on watching the United States qualify for World Cup because they're going to play the
1:37.5	worst team in the group in Trinidad. And then two hours later, the United States lose to Trinidad
1:43.5	and fail to qualify for the World Cup.
1:45.7	And within 90 seconds, I've got to coherently tell the world on ESPN news because there's a college football basketball game on on one and two.
	...

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