USMNT U-17s win 22-0: Sign of progress or a sign of a poor tournament?

This 22-0 victory is U. S. Soccer’s largest at any level. It surpasses the previous record of 20-0, set by the U.S. women in 2022 over Grenada during their own U-17 CONCACAF Championship qualifying process. 

Both pale in comparison, however, to Australia’s eye-opening result against American Samoa in 2001. The Socceroos won 31-0, setting an as-yet unbeaten victory margin in international soccer.

Massive victories like Australia’s over American Samoa and the USMNT’s over the U. S. Virgin Islands aren’t signs of otherworldly skill: they’re signs of unbalanced competitions. Australia recognized that and used its 31-0 drubbing as a catalyst to leave the Oceanic confederation altogether. Sick of destroying smaller teams like American Samoa, Vanuatu and Palau only to struggle against opponents from the rest of the world, Australia abandoned Oceania in 2006 in favor of Asia’s far more competitive confederation.

The USMNT has no such option. It can’t realistically abandon CONCACAF and join another continent’s soccer confederation. (Nor should it—CONCACAF’s other teams like Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica are highly competitive.) But this 22-0 victory does raise important questions about how CONCACAF’s smaller Caribbean nations should be handled within the confederation. Is it fair to put the U. S. Virgin Islands—population 105,000—up against the United States in the opening round of a tournament? Does it help either team improve in the long run?

In senior CONCACAF qualifying, the smaller Caribbean nations—often known as “minnow” teams—face off against one another in an opening playoff. With only the top “minnows” making the official first round of the tournament, this playoff prevents lopsided results while giving smaller nations the opportunity to earn games against more difficult opponents.

The U-17 qualifiers have no such protections for their “minnow” nations. Mexico will face off against Dominica while Honduras will take on Bonaire of the Dutch Antilles. It’s a system that deserves a serious rethink. No team learns anything from winning or losing 22-0, and learning is the ultimate goal at the U-17 level.

The USMNT will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 12, when it is scheduled to face St. Kitts and Nevis (population 48,000.) Another 22-0 victory certainly isn’t out of the question…and that helps absolutely no one.