The U.S. men’s national team has come through its nuclear winter and is beginning to enter a phase in which fans are expecting—or at least hoping and praying—to see some green shoots coming up through the charred and barren wasteland of the American soccer landscape. And while there have been few wholesale reforms of the type that were proposed in certain speeches at the USSF election in February, the emergence of teenagers like Tyler Adams, Marky Delgado, and Weston McKennie have given the American Outlaws and Sam’s Army reason to soldier on.



Domestically, MLS’s development shortfalls remain plain to see. Adams and Delgado notwithstanding, the league’s record of developing homegrown talent is poor. DeAndre Yedlin and Jozy Altidore remain the highest profile outbound transfers. After that, we have… Matt Miazga?



But out in California, there is something stirring beneath the soil: The LA Galaxy has gathered the strongest...