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USMNT T&T GFXGetty/GOAL

What happened to the USMNT players whose embarrassing defeat to Trinidad & Tobago confirmed 2018 World Cup failure?

It's been six years since that day, that infamous day. Players, coaches, executives, everyone... many have come and gone. Still, all these years later, despite all the good that's happened, that day still matters to those who follow the U.S. men's national team.

Trinidad & Tobago still means something. The U.S. has gone on to bigger and better things, of course, having buried the 2018 World Cup demons with their run to the 2022 knockout stages. A group of rising stars has taken control of the team, ushering the U.S. into a new era, one brighter than any that preceded it.

Still, there's still that little hint of something. As the USMNT prepares to face T&T this week with a spot in the 2024 Copa America on the line, it's hard not to think about 2018. The questions are inevitable: all these years later, do the current USMNT players feel that something?

"It's largely a different group that was part of that game," midfielder Cristian Roldan said ahead of a match against T&T at the Gold Cup this summer. "We've done a pretty good job to move past that. It's a new group and we have new goals, new objectives. I don't think it plays too much of a role in how we prepare for the game."

Roldan is right. Of the USMNT players to play in Couva that fateful night, only three went to the World Cup in 2022. It really has been a changing of the guard.

But what happened to the old guard after Couva? GOAL takes a look back at the players that were there on that night and where they all ended up.

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  • Tim Howard USMNTGetty Images

    GK: Tim Howard

    The legendary goalkeeper had a rough night in Couva, as he was caught out by Alvin Jones' miracle blast to make the score 2-0.

    A member of the Colorado Rapids at the time, he played through the 2019 MLS season before temporarily retiring, only to return for a brief spell with Memphis 901, where he also served as sporting director and minority owner.

    Howard is now an analyst for NBC's Premier League coverage.

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  • Jorge Villafana USA

    LB: Jorge Villafana

    A regular for the U.S. through 2017 and 2018, Villafana amassed 21 caps in those two years.

    He hasn't been called up since 2018, though, having since played for the Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy in MLS.

    He last appeared in a match back in September 2021, with a season-ending injury derailing his 2022 campaign before he departed the Galaxy later that year.

  • Omar Gonzalez USA 10082014Getty Images

    CB: Omar Gonzalez

    The ex-LA Galaxy defender was a steady presence for the USMNT for years, featuring in four Gold Cups and a World Cup, but his own goal cost the U.S. in Couva.

    Then playing his trade for Pachuca, he remained with the Mexican side until 2019, when he returned to MLS with Toronto FC. In 2022, he reunited with Bruce Arena with the New England Revolution, where he went on to play 15 matches in 2023.

  • Matt Besler USA

    CB: Matt Besler

    Another World Cup veteran, Besler earned 47 caps after debuting in 2013. The last of those caps, unfortunately, came in Couva.

    Still, Besler remained a regular for Sporting KC in the years after, completing a decade-long stay with the club before joining Austin FC for their inaugural season in 2021. He retired after that final hurrah.

  • DeAndre Yedlin USMNT United States World Cup 2022Getty

    RB: DeAndre Yedlin

    One of the few that are still around, Yedlin went from youngster to leader after the 2018 cycle.

    He was one of the more senior members of the squad on the road to 2022, booking his place at a second World Cup in Qatar as a backup to Sergino Dest. He's no longer the USMNT's go-to right back but, now at Inter Miami, the defender may still have something to offer as a veteran and backup option.

  • Michael Bradley USMNTGetty

    CM: Michael Bradley

    The captain on that night, perhaps no player has been scapegoated more for the USMNT's failure against T&T than Bradley.

    Just a few weeks after that loss he lifted MLS Cup with Toronto and, in the years since, he remained an integral part of everything that goes on at the Canadian club. Bradley also remained with the U.S. for a while after that loss, earning two caps in 2018 and eight in 2019, including a run to the Gold Cup final.

    He retired after the 2023 MLS season, going to join his dad, former USMNT boss Bob, as a coach at Norwegian side Stabaek.

  • Darlington Nagbe Estados UnidosGetty

    CM: Darlington Nagbe

    After making his international debut in 2015, Nagbe was a near ever-present during 2018 World Cup qualifying, starting seven of the 10 matches in the Hexagonal.

    He stuck around for a bit in 2018 before declining multiple call-ups to focus on family life and his club career, essentially withdrawing himself from the player pool.

    Had he stayed, he could have been a key player in the 2022 cycle, as he's won two MLS Cups and five total trophies with Atlanta United and the Columbus Crew in the years since.

  • Christian Pulisic USMNT United States 2023Getty

    LM: Christian Pulisic

    We all know what happened to this guy. Pulisic, then a teenage prodigy, nearly saved the day for the U.S. with his goal early in the second half, but it wasn't to be. A crying Pulisic, head in hands, became one of the lasting images of that loss, but it certainly hasn't defined the winger's career.

    He's gone on to become the face of the USMNT and arguably the biggest male soccer star in this country's history, moving to Chelsea and eventually winning the Champions League. Now at AC Milan, he also helped lead the U.S. back to the 2022 World Cup, where he scored the decisive goal against Iran to get Gregg Berhalter's team out of the group stage.

  • Paul Arriola USMNT 2022Getty Images

    RM: Paul Arriola

    In 2017, Arriola was near the start of his international career, and he's one of few players that has carried on since the 2018 cycle came to an end.

    The winger has 50 total caps and has been a part of two Gold Cup squads, but was, unfortunately, one of the final cuts for the 2022 World Cup squad. He featured twice in 2023, both in January camp, as he remains a key player for FC Dallas.

  • Bobby Wood USMNTGetty

    ST: Bobby Wood

    The Hawaii-raised star looked set to compete for a starting spot at the 2018 World Cup before the USMNT failed to qualify.

    Wood remained with the team in 2018, scoring three goals to take his total to 13 in 44 caps. However, he hasn't been called up since.

    At club level, he moved to MLS in 2021 to join Real Salt Lake and is now with the Revolution after joining ahead of the 2023 season.

  • Jozy Altidore USMNT 2017Getty

    ST: Jozy Altidore

    Another player that social media took aim at following the loss, Altidore's international career hasn't been the same since.

    He made a handful appearances during the 2022 cycle, but hasn't been involved since 2019. Because of that, he remains on 42 goals, leaving him as the third-leading scorer in USMNT history behind only Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey.

    Altidore was most recently with the Revolution, but had his contract bought out this summer.

  • Clint Dempsey USMNT 2014Getty

    SUB: Clint Dempsey

    The USMNT's joint-all-time leading scorer.

    Couva was, quite unfortunately, the last time we saw Dempsey in a USMNT shirt as the legendary forward never got a proper send-off with the national team.

    He retired just one year after the loss, having battled back from a heart issue in 2017, and is now an analyst for Paramount+'s USMNT coverage.

  • Acosta USMNT 2022Getty

    SUB: Kellyn Acosta

    The third member of this list to make it to Qatar, Acosta had to battle his way back to the USMNT after falling out of the player pool for a period.

    He had just one cap between 2018 and 2021, but returned to make 21 appearances across that 2021 calendar year. He booked his trip to Qatar in the end, memorably making a crucial foul on then-LAFC teammate Gareth Bale to prevent a Wales counterattack in the opener.

    Acosta remains a key figure for LAFC after helping the club lift an MLS Cup in 2022.

  • Benny Feilhaber USA SerbiaGetty Images

    SUB: Benny Feilhaber

    A 2010 World Cup veteran, Feilhaber and Jurgen Klinsmann never saw eye-to-eye, keeping him out of the national team for years. He returned for three appearances in 2017.

    The third and final of those appearances was, unfortunately, against Trinidad & Tobago, where he came on as late sub as the U.S. looked for that all-important goal.

    Feilhaber remained active for three MLS seasons after, playing for Los Angeles FC and the Colorado Rapids before returning home to Sporting KC for one last campaign before retiring in 2019. Hes now a head coach for the club's reserves.

  • Bruce Arena USMNTGetty Images

    COACH: Bruce Arena

    Brought in to help steady the ship after Klinsmann's dismissal, Arena could never quite get the U.S. on track. Because of that, it all came down to that last game and we know what happened next.

    After taking some time off, Arena returned to MLS in 2019 by taking the Revolution job, leading them to their first MLS playoff appearance in five years in his first season. The club won the Supporters' Shield in 2021, setting the league's point record in the process with 73. He departed the club this summer, though, as he stepped down following an investigation into inappropriate remarks.