FRISCO - While not a part of the final round of qualifying, U.S. Men’s National Team players Walker Zimmerman and Jesse Gonzalez are feeling the same pain in Frisco that the entire soccer nation is today after the U.S. failed to qualify for it’s first World Cup since 1986.
“It’s disappointing for sure. I can’t imagine what’s going in the heads of all the guys in the locker room, all the teammates in the locker room,” said Zimmerman, who was called into the March pair of qualifiers but didn’t see action. “It’s a long cycle, so you can’t just look to last night and say ‘hey, they didn’t get the job done’ there were a lot of missed opportunities along the way”
“It sucks,” Gonzalez bluntly added. “[It’s] sad not seeing the U.S. qualify to the World Cup. I think the whole United States knows that, and I think we need to keep moving forward and keep working. I think that’s the only thing we have left.”
The loss will usher in a new generation of players to be the leaders of the National Team program going forward. Dallas’ Zimmerman, Gonzalez, Kellyn Acosta and Matt Hedges are at the core of that group.
“It’s going to be a painful, painful summer next summer when we are watching it from our couches at home,” Zimmerman said. “The only thing we can do is use it as motivation going forward and making sure it never happens again.”
“We’ve got to keep working,” Gonzalez said. “I just have to keep improving here at the club. I think everyone of us wants to get to that World Cup. I think if we work hard here, we take care of business in our [respective] clubs, I think most of the young guys can get to that World Cup.”
