Michael Bradley and Christian Pulisic react to their loss against Trinidad and Tobago. Ashley Allen, Getty Images

It’s the morning after, and I’m in still in shock over the events in Couva, Trinidad, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and Panama City, Panama last night. Only one of twenty-seven combinations of results of last night’s final round of World Cup qualifiers would send the US Men’s National Team out of next Summer’s Finals, and that cruel jackpot was hit shortly after 10pm Eastern Time.

Consider how close the US was to advancing to Russia 2018:

A Honduran shot ricocheted off the crossbar, hit Mexican keeper Memo Ochoa in the back of the head, and landed in the Mexican net

in the back of the head, and landed in the Mexican net A “shot” by Panamanian forward Blas Perez was ruled a goal despite not going into the Costa Rican net

was ruled a goal despite not going into the Costa Rican net US scoring legend Clint Dempsey blasted a shot off the T&T post in the final minutes of the loss in Trinidad

If any of those three events go the other way, American fans are spending this morning booking their flights to Russia next summer. Instead, tens of millions of US supporters, many of whom have never missed a World Cup Finals in their lifetimes, are inconsolable today and considering a second team to root in next Summer’s tournament.

Even if the US had found a way to get a draw against the previously-eliminated Trinidadian B-team last night, this World Cup qualifying campaign has been a mess. The Yanks lost their first two Hex matches and never truly recovered, despite a nice Gold Cup title this summer. The team was played off the field by Costa Rica twice, lost two matches at home, and often looked listless and clueless on the field.

Some argued at times that this squad was the “most talented ever,” but as a fan who watched the US beat Portugal and Mexico on the way to the quarterfinals in 2002, I have to laugh at that notion. Brian Sciaretta at American Soccer Now has a stellar piece on the “lost generation” of US players, rightly illustrating that the Men’s program is in a talent trough.

So how can the US Men’s program learn from this spectacular failure?