LOS ANGELES _ As the final seconds ticked away on the U.S. national team's last World Cup qualifier this past October, the mood on the American bench darkened quicker than the Caribbean skies over the tiny stadium in Couva, Trinidad.
Half an hour earlier the players had been giddy, certain they would make up a two-goal deficit against a young team playing way over its head. But as Guatemalan referee Juan Carlos Guerra stared as his watch and raised his whistle to his lips, that confidence gave way to despair.
Some players looked to the heavens, as if seeking divine intervention. Others stared at their shoes, unable to believe what was happening right in front of them. The U.S., needing only a tie to advance to its eighth straight World Cup, lost 2-1 to Trinidad and Tobago, a team ranked 99th in the world.
Seven months later, with this summer's tournament in Russia just five weeks away, many still can't believe the U.S. won't be there for the first time since 1986.
"That's a disappointment that you really can't put into words at this point," midfielder Dax McCarty said.
"To this moment it's just a very numbing feeling," forward Chris Wondolowski said.
Bruce Arena, who resigned as coach three days after the game: "We failed in the end."
It was a failure that led to bouts of hand-wringing and finger-pointing, and a search for answers. Arena even wrote a book about it entitled "What's Wrong With US?"
"The finality of it was almost hard to believe," McCarty recalled recently. "For me, being able to say I was representing the U.S. and helping us try to qualify for the World Cup was a dream. That turned into a nightmare very quickly."
