U.S. Men's Failure to Qualify for London 2012 Olympics Can Boost World Cup Hopes

The U.S. men's Under-23 team faced the music in Nashville this week, as a stoppage-time equalizer from El Salvador dashed their hopes of participating in the 2012 London Olympics.

Goalkeeper Sean Johnson's misplay delivered a heart-wrenching end for coach Caleb Porter's fresh-faced collective, but in the end, they had only themselves to blame.

The 3-3 draw followed a 6-0 win against Cuba and a 2-0 defeat to Canada, and it cost the U.S. a spot in Saturday's regional semifinals. As a result, the USA men will be out of the Olympic medal hunt for the second time in three Summer Games (they also missed in 2004).

There could be some far-reaching consequences.

Most importantly, Porter's men will go without precious tournament experience in London this summer. The Olympics is no match for a World Cup or even a Gold Cup in terms of intensity, but you can expect packed stadiums and star-studded lineups this July.

The disappointment has also blotted the copybook of U.S. men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, whose holistic approach is not reflected well in the underachievement of Porter—or his team.

Sweeping frustration among the U.S soccer community has only been compounded by the sheer weight of resources lent to the Olympic qualification process.

"Rarely has as much time and money been invested in putting an Olympic qualifying side together, with monthly training camps being held since December," wrote Jeff Carlisle at ESPN.

There's also a worrying trend appearing. Last year, the U.S. Under-20 team missed out on qualification for the World Cup and, as Ives Galarcep points out at Fox Soccer, their Under-17 compatriots failed to meet expectations when they got to theirs.

One American sports editor (Dave Ruthenberg) went so far as to say the Under-23s' Olympic failure was the latest indictment for a sport fighting a losing battle to win over the nation. "Americans love a winner. A loser? Well, not so much, especially when it comes to what still is considered a foreign sport," he wrote.

But while criticism of Porter—the head coach at the University of Akron—his team and U.S. men's soccer as a whole has been fierce in the wake of the Olympics mishap, could U.S. failure to reach London 2012 yet prove to be a blessing in disguise?

Could the overarching goal of achieving on the World Cup stage ultimately benefit from the whole debacle?

Let's start with what Klinsmann had to say about missing out on the Olympics:

"

Obviously, you want to get the results done and be in big competitions like Olympics.

But here is a very good group doing fantastic work, but they weren’t consistent enough and it killed the situation. It’s a learning experience now, at an early stage they have to handle a big disappointment, which is not easy.

It doesn’t kill them, it makes them stronger. But with things like the pace of the game, technical elements, it was very important for us to see we are on the right path for our style of play.

"

Klinsmann's technical perspective is clear. His mission to stamp a recognizable identity on U.S. men's international soccer at all levels will take time. And as with any footballing revolution, fans need to be patient. A positive outcome in the long term is worth some pain now.

All competitive playing time is learning time for U.S. men's soccer right now. And with that in mind, even the Under-23s' loss to Canada can prove a positive in the bigger picture. To get it right, sometimes you first need to get it wrong—badly.

Also interesting is Klinsmann's suggestion that key members of Porter's squad could emerge mentally stronger from their Olympic nightmare.

You could argue there's more to be learned psychologically by actually being at the tournament, but judging by the emotional reactions of the players in Nashville, the likes of Freddy Adu, Brek Shea and Terrence Boyd will have much food for thought over the coming weeks.

There's no shortage of motivation in that kind of devastation, and Klinsmann may find them all the more hungry to prove themselves at the senior level as a result.

With no Olympics to worry about, it will be interesting to see how many of Porter's squad Klinsmann now calls on for international friendlies against Scotland, Brazil and Canada as he prepares his team to enter into qualifying for World Cup 2014.

Klinsmann is looking for technical ability and players who can carry responsibility. Among Porter's squad, he's already vouched most notably for Adu, Shea and Juan Agudelo and given a debut to Boyd during the 1-0 win in Italy.

Joe Corona and Mix Diskerud will be among others now vying for his attention after Olympic qualifying. 

Klinsmann can't change the last 20 years of how U.S. soccer has been run at a grassroots level, but by encouraging and trusting the right kinds of players at the senior level, he can influence the aspirations of the generations who seek to emulate them.

Nobody's saying U.S. soccer is better off being out of the 2012 Olympics, but perhaps in a nation's latest failure can be found the greatest motivation to embrace Klinsmann's revolution yet.

“It’s come a long way, soccer in the United States, and I am now getting the opportunity to move it further,” Klinsmann said last August.

Maybe Olympic failure is just part of the process. And if Klinsmann is as clever as he thinks he is, the generation who missed out on London 2012 will spend the rest of their careers feeling like they have a point to prove.

Some of them can start by leading the U.S. men's team to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.