U.S. Men’s Soccer Team Clinches World Cup Berth

“We were potentially overconfident, not understanding what qualifying was about, and we learned that lesson quickly,” he said.

The maturation of his young players would become the predominant plotline of the competition. And the lessons, in that regard, kept coming.

Only four members of the current roster — Christian Pulisic, DeAndre Yedlin, Kellyn Acosta and Paul Arriola — were part of the group that lost to Trinidad and Tobago in 2017.

The players coped with a punishingly condensed regional qualifying schedule that, on four occasions, required them to play three games in three cities in a week.

They withstood injuries and suspensions at various junctures to some of their best players.

They endured, near the finish line, a collective gastrointestinal calamity, with 30 members of the team and staff ailing from a devastating stomach bug after their game last week in Mexico City.

The trials, in sum, were easier to accept in the end because achieved their objective.

“As a team, we’ve created bonds and chemistry that, to be honest with you, is very, very different from a lot of teams I’ve played in,” said midfielder Tyler Adams, citing the team’s collective youth as a reason for its closeness. “Gregg speaks on the fact that, coming into World Cup qualifying, we really want to rewrite how these American fans view us, not just through our style of play, but our intensity, our commitment, our belief that we want to take U.S. Soccer to the next level.”