It's been a torrid time for sports and esports teams from the the United States recently as two of the three League of Legends teams crashed out of the World Championships and the Soccer team failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 32 years.

The NA LCS teams got off to a fantastic start at Worlds and by the end of week one, all three of Cloud9, Immortals and Team SoloMid looked likely to qualify.

It was the third consecutive year that the NA teams as a whole finished the first week with a record of 6-3, and it was the third year in a row that those teams bottled it in week two.

Team SoloMid failed to escape from their group at LoL Worlds for the third consecutive year

While C9 narrowly squeezing through their group did redeem the region slightly, it still wasn't good enough for NA fans - especially those who support TSM.

No other team has suffered more from NA's 'curse' than them, this was the third consecutive year that TSM crashed out of the Group Stages.

TSM fans must like Baseball too because their third strike was the last straw. Even star player Soren 'Bjergsen' Bjerg felt the full force of fan's anger, and rightly so to an extent, every player underperformed.

There's no such thing as an easy group at the World Championships but TSM couldn't have hoped for much better. They were more than capable of defeating every team in their group, and at some point in the tournament they did.

And it was a similar case for the United States men's soccer team. To qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia all they had to do was draw with Trinidad and Tobago, a team ranked 72 places lower that really, they should have defeated let alone managed a draw with.

When it mattered most, both teams crumbled. It's a huge nation to bear the responsibility of but is pressure really the reason for under performing?

Both the US soccer team and LCS team TSM crumbled under pressure when it mattered most

I don't think it's that big a factor, the real issue is the lack of focus on homegrown, American talent in both sports.

Of course, both teams have got some emerging stars from the US, the soccer team has Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic while TSM has Kevin 'Hauntzer' Yarnell and Vincent 'Biofrost' Wang.

Still, Pulisic was the only American player on the pitch under the age of 22 and Hauntzer was already established in the NA LCS before TSM thanks to his time on Gravity.

If they want to see future success, the United States have to focus on developing their own talent rather than having international superstars, many past their best, join their leagues.

The MLS is full of superstars who are past their prime and looking for comfy living with one last, substantial pay check. And while Steven Gerrard or Andrea Pirlo are great for exposure, you need to ensure those teams are balanced with youth who can learn from them.

While the MLS gains old star players past their prime, youngsters like Pulisic leave for Europe

But that doesn't happen because money talks, both the LoL teams and the soccer team have had millions pumped into them. When someone is investing that much, they don't want to wait or gamble on the progression of youngsters - they want instant results.

That is why NA LCS teams have relied on South Korean and European imports in their teams. The fact Europe could produce enough talent to put star players on many NA LCS rosters and still repeatedly outperform their Western counterparts at Worlds demonstrates just how bad the situation is.

Riot tried to fix the situation by hosting Scouting Grounds last year, open to any player not then signed to a team. The only player from that tournament who has since competed in the NA LCS is Omar 'OmarGod' Amin and that was only because Counter Logic Gaming had so many issues with Joshua 'Dardoch' Hartnett.

The NA LCS teams rely too heavily on Korean and European imports such as Bjergsen (left)

Dardoch is one of the few promising NA talents but he needs a mentor. In the short span of his career he's already played for three separate teams after each one kicked him for his attitude problems. Most of the retired NA LCS players who had successful careers have gone on to be commentators or Twitch streamers, there are few pros left to nurture the next generation of talent.

And there plenty of is talent around. Mike 'MikeYeung' Yeung took the world by storm when he debuted earlier this year and Samson 'Lourlo' Jackson has shown a lot of growth despite Team Liquid's poor performances.

They just need a chance, whether that's in the NA LCS or away from it. Soccer starlet Pulisic moved to Germany for Dortmund and now looks like the closest thing the States have had to a world class superstar in years.

The NA LCS does have homegrown talents such as MikeYeung (left) and Team Liquid's Dardoch

Next season, every NA LCS team is required to have an academy team. There's no relegation so now there's no need for teams to ship in Korean and European talent to try and advance into the LCS.

It's a good start for some up-and-coming players to make a name for themselves but as seen in soccer, academy football is a whole different ball game to the full-professional game.

Teams will have to work closely with these players so that they have a better strategic understanding, so they can learn from the mistakes that senior players have made, so that NA LCS teams can finally build five-men rosters that don't rely on two imports.

If NA LCS teams truly want to compete internationally, they will need to grow American superstars. Hauntzer and Biofrost are very promising but still need time, TSM have to keep faith in their ability to shine instead of panicking and pulling the lever on more roster changes, otherwise they'll never progress.