Seems like the US is no longer a second-tier soccer nation
They are not.
They can play.
And this goes back to my earlier posts.
USA wants to be part of global sport.
That means football,or as you Yanks call it Soccer.
The number one team sport in the world.
The rest of the world have little interest in NFL(Rugby for wimps), Baseball(Rounders...a girl's game), Hockey(Another girls game)
Basketball is better and has some popularity, but is similar to Netball,another girls game.
USA needs to embrace proper football and from what I have read, it is the fastest growing team sport in the USA.
Given time, I think the USA football team will be one of the best in the world.