U.S. Fails to Qualify for World Cup for First Time in Three Decades

The United States men’s soccer team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after a devastating loss in Trinidad on Tuesday night. In a shocking upset, Trinidad and Tobago beat the U.S. men’s national soccer team 2-1, knocking the Americans out of next summer’s tournament in Russia. The U.S. team, ranked 28th, needed only to tie with 99th-ranked Trinidad to qualify for the cup. But the loss, combined with surprise victories by Honduras and Panama in separate games, dragged the U.S. from third to fifth place in the six-nation final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region. It will be the first time the U.S. will miss the World Cup since 1986.