When the United States Men’s Soccer team was drawn into Group G for the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil, critics immediately said that the U.S. has no chance of even getting out of their group. Group G is this World Cups so called “Group of Death”, a title given to the most talented group. Along with the U.S., are Ghana, Germany, and Portugal.

“The closest game for the United States will be against Ghana, but they will not be beating Portugal or Germany,” senior Cole Lacey said. “America got screwed by the fact that they were drawn into such a tough group. It is not fair for them.”

All three of these teams are considered world class in national soccer competitions. So this raises the question, what chance does the U.S. have of advancing to the knockout stages? The answer is quite simply: none.

“I don’t think the U.S. has a chance of getting out of their group at all,” senior Mark Debney said. “Portugal and Germany are just much better than the U.S. and even Ghana could potentially beat America.”

The U.S. has one game against each of its fellow group mates and they begin with Ghana in mid June. Each of their opponents offers a tough competition, but also very differing styles. With Ghana, the U.S. will face a team who has players who play for some of the best clubs in Europe, like Michael Essien and Kevin Prince-Boateng. Ghana is viewed as the big rival of the U.S. since they have similar talent levels and Ghana knocked the U.S. out of the last two World Cups. However, Ghana certainly is a better overall team than the U.S. and they have proved it over the years.

After Ghana, the U.S. has to face Germany and Portugal. Both are ranked in the top three of the FIFA rankings, so they are far superior teams. Germany, is and always has been one of the most talented teams in the world, and this tournament is no different. Germany has players in every major European league and they have so many different superstars. Players like Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller will lead the charge for Germany, who is a legitimate contender to win the tournament. Germany is much better team in so many different ways than the U.S. and this will be evident when they face each other. With Portugal, the U.S. will face Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players in the world, so he will difficult by himself. Portugal also has a good supporting cast, which is full of experienced players who play in Europe.

All three of the teams that the U.S. has to face have players who play for the top clubs around the world, however the U.S. has no player or players that are playing for world class clubs. Although the U.S. does have a fair amount of players in Europe, these players play for small European clubs in leagues that aren’t quite world class. The U.S. players mostly come from the Major League Soccer (MLS) which is the league in the U.S. This is by no means a world class league and therefore the U.S. will suffer in the world cup because of it.

“The difference between the teams is due to the fact that all the other teams’ players have club experience in the top leagues, and the U.S. players all play in sub-par leagues,” Debney said.

Another one of the main reasons the U.S has no chance to be successful in this year’s World Cup is their coaching.  The United States is led by German coach Jurgen Klinsmann who has much to prove in his leadership of the Men’s team. Klinsmann has made some very questionable decisions since he took over. Recently, Klinsmann selected his 23 man roster that he is taking to Brazil, and the face of U.S. soccer was not even included in the squad. Klinsmann actually decided to not pick the all time leading goal scorer for the U.S. national team: Landon Donovan. Teammates and many other people have expressed their opinion that Donovan should have been included in the World Cup squad. There is no way for this year’s team to be successful if they don’t take the best possible squad. Instead of Donovan, the U.S. has selected many German-American and Mexican-American players who aren’t as good as Donovan.

Overall, the U.S. team is in for a tough tournament and they will certainly not advance out of their group.