News Analysis: Seven reasons why U.S. men’s soccer keeps crashing out of the World Cup

Before this summer’s World Cup, FIFA asked the 48 participating teams to provide a list of songs to be played during warmups and goal celebrations and, if appropriate, after victories. On the U.S. list was John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which quickly became the anthem of the team’s run through the tournament.

A more appropriate choice would have been the Buzzcocks’ “Sixteen Again,” because once again that’s where the Americans’ World Cup ended.

This was supposed to be the year the U.S. broke through. With a roster full of players from major European teams and 13 who were World Cup veterans, a lack of quality and experience no longer were valid excuses.

With the U.S. co-hosting the tournament, the team would play before huge, supportive crowds. And it had Mauricio Pochettino, one of Europe’s most successful club managers, running the show.

“Playing at home is just a huge advantage,” said Bruce Arena, the only man to coach the U.S. in two World Cups. “They’re seeded, so they’re in a favorable bracket. They have everything going for them.”

Yet they went out in the round of 16. Again.

“It feels exactly the same,” said midfielder Tyler Adams, who has played in the last two World Cups. “Definitely sucks.”

Yes, the U.S. won a knockout-round game for just the second time. But with the expanded field, it was a round-of-32 game against a Bosnia-Herzegovina team that finished third in its group and likely would not have qualified for the tournament under the old format.

The U.S. also won three games overall, its most wins in a World Cup, and scored a team-record 11 goals. But two of those three victories and seven of those goals came against teams that likely wouldn’t have made the tournament in the past.

So despite some new highs, nothing really changed: The U.S. got no further than the final 16. Again.

And that should force U.S. Soccer into a major, systemic evaluation of what went wrong and how it can be fixed.