“Everything’s a lot easier when you’re on the outside looking in, but it is time — and maybe this is the only time it could have happened — to re-evaluate and reassess what’s going on and make sure we are doing the right things and implementing the right things to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Sometimes when these things happen, that’s when you have the real impetus and chance for change.”

Another former professional player, Shaka Hislop, has a rare perspective on the men’s soccer calamity in the United States. He was born in Trinidad, played nationally for Trinidad and Tobago, went to college in the United States and was a goalkeeper for several teams in England’s Premier League before returning to the United States to play in M.L.S.

“Ninety-nine percent of Concacaf wish we had the type of infrastructure, support and resources that the U.S. have,” he said, referring to the other national teams in the United States’ qualifying group. “So, yes, it’s absolutely surprising things seemed to have regressed at the highest end of the game. I’ve been saying this is the worst U.S. team I’ve seen in the last 20 years.”

With fingers pointing at anyone connected to the men’s national team, Sunil Gulati, the president of the sport’s national federation, is under pressure now. He has been in charge of U.S. Soccer since 2006 and, barring a resignation, will be seeking a fourth term as federation president in February.

Dismay with Gulati has been mounting for years, despite his organization’s various financial flourishes and its strong position to host the 2026 World Cup in tandem with Mexico and Canada. His critics point to the men’s team’s modest levels of success under Klinsmann, and Arena’s inability to save the World Cup campaign as Klinsmann’s replacement. On a broader level, they claim that Gulati hasn’t done enough to make the top tiers of youth soccer more affordable, which affects the longstanding development issues.

“The fan part of me says it’s time to move away from the past and get a new president,” said Kyle Martino, a former national team midfielder and current TV analyst. “Sunil has done great things for U.S. Soccer but recently is harming the program more than he’s helping it. And I think that’s kind of natural in any position where someone remains unchallenged for so long and fresh ideas aren’t invited and executed. I’m not someone who’s advocating for a clean sweep, because I think there are many good parts of U.S. Soccer. But at the very top, I think the message to our fans needs to be that mediocrity like this — the lowest point in our soccer’s history — will not be taken lightly.”