PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO – NOVEMBER 17: Captain of the USA national team #4 Michael Bradley applauds the crowd during a World Cup Qualifier between Trinidad and Tobago and USA as part of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for Russia 2018 at Hasely Crawford Stadium on November 17, 2015 in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. (Photo by Ashley Allen Getty Images)

(SP) – US Soccer president Sunil Gulati is owning the the men’s national team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and is vowing that things will change.

“We need to do better than this,” said Gulati. “We are not living up to our potential. People may laugh about this today, but I truly believe the men’s team has the potential to be a team that makes the World Cup, gets a lot of hype and then falls on its face. I still believe that can happen.”

In order to meet that goal for 2022, US Soccer will immediately hire consultants from English soccer in hopes of first making the tournament and then embarrassing itself.

“You look at all the years of crushing defeat that England has suffered in the World Cup, and you dream of reaching that level one day,” said despondent US coach Bruce Arena. “I was hoping we could take that step in 2018, but it’s not going to happen. But I’m not going to give up. I’m going to be on these players every day to help us disappoint in a whole new way in 2022.”