I was standing outside Luminus Arena on the cold and windy day before the U.S. friendly against Italy, speaking with a pair of German journalists who had driven four hours for the chance to interview Werder Bremen prospect Josh Sargent, when they asked me a simple question that has a complex answer.



Why was a striker who had yet to break into a senior club side called in for an international match? The U.S. was continuing to cap a player who had yet to make his Bundesliga debut, and these journalists wanted to know what Americans made of this fact.



To them, it was a rarity. For this U.S. team, it is a reality. But that shouldn’t be the case any longer.



The World Cup failure exposed a yawning gap between Michael Bradley’s generation and Christian Pulisic’s. The U.S. team’s lack of in-their-prime players contributed to its disastrous qualification cycle. Its lack of players competing in the world’s best leagues likewise betrayed...