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A comment on Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer?. Parent comment

Re:Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer? by jandrewrogers on Sunday June 07, 2026 @08:23PM (#48440040)
The amount of distance covered in a soccer game is twice that of a cornerback in an NFL game. Unlike NFL, soccer also has very limited substitutions so you can't readily swap in fresh legs. An athlete needs to be able to go the full distance at a high level.

A natural cornerback isn't going to be "quicker and faster" over that many miles without a different kind of conditioning that probably favors different genetics. That said, I do think the game would translate well for some cornerbacks in some roles.

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Re:Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer? by leoc on Sunday June 07, 2026 @08:49PM (#48440193)
Additionally, a top-division European soccer team also typically plays something like 34 or 38 league games every season, and that doesn’t include things like domestic cups and European competition.
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Re:Why isn't the U.S. better at soccer? by jandrewrogers on Sunday June 07, 2026 @09:11PM (#48440307)
Excellent point. I hadn’t even considered the number of games. Good players will play over 2500 minutes in a season. That is a completely different type of wear and tear.
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