The strength of worldwide soccer has been on display in recent weeks in the Copa America and Euro 2016. The United States men’s national team — which hosted this year’s centennial edition of the tournament — made USA soccer history with its best run in the Copa America to date. USA made it to the semifinals, but lost to Argentina, 4-0.

The Americans ran into arguably the world’s best soccer player in Lionel Messi and his No. 1 ranked team. They were exposed right off the bat as Messi chipped a pass over the USA defense and right into the path of Ezequiel Lavezzi, who headed it right past flat-footed goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Lavezzi’s third-minute goal gave the Argentine side an early lead and it never looked back.

Messi put the USA in a 2-0 hole in the 32nd minute by darting a free kick into the top-right corner of the net. Gonzalo Higuain scored twice in the second half, arriving at the 4-0 final score.

It was apparent from the start that the American side never thought it had a chance. Whether it was veterans Michael Bradley or Clint Dempsey, or the promising youth like DeAndre Yedlin and Christian Pulisic, no American player seemed comfortable under pressure.

The most telling stat of the entire game was USA going the full 90 minutes without once putting a shot on goal.

In a third-place game — and a rematch from group play — USA faced Columbia. The Americans looked better, actually creating chances, but ultimately lost 1-0. While disappointing, it was a step up from the 2-0 loss to Columbia early in the tournament.

Tuesday’s pathetic showing in the semifinals begs the question, “Is this as good as it gets for men’s soccer in America?”

It may be.

In a lot of South American and European countries, soccer is not only the most prevalent sport, but oftentimes the only one available from an early age. That’s not the case in the United States. There’s a crowding out effect in that baseball, football and basketball’s popularity stunts the growth of more fringe sports like soccer.

However, some of those less popular sports — namely hockey and lacrosse — have gained a lot of traction in certain regions and it’s translating to the national level. The USA national hockey team has world championships under its belt. Based on the record 12 Americans picked in the first round of Friday’s NHL Entry Draft, it seems the future of America’s hockey team is bright.

Soccer and hockey, at the youth level, are similar in a lot of ways. Throughout most of America, there’s a high cost associated with the time and dedication of playing year-round to reach the professional level.

Unlike baseball, football and basketball, neither sport is available at a low-cost recreation level for youth. Throughout most of the country, young players that wish to pursue the sport oftentimes have to join regional travel teams.

Take, for example, Washington native Owen Chrisman. The young defenseman has to travel to Raleigh multiple times a week just for practice. His work paid off a few months back as he helped lead his team, the Carolina Lightning, to a league championship

However, it required another level of dedication to the sport. While he’s commuting over an hour and a half to practice, many of his peers in Washington need not travel further than Kugler Field or the Bobby Andrews Recreation Center.

So why is hockey continuing to grow while soccer isn’t? One of the biggest things to look at is the opportunity to make money playing soccer in North America. During this past season, American hockey players and Chicago Blackhawks teammates Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane ranked second and third, respectively, among highest-paid NHL players. They made $16 million and $14.7 million, respectively, after accounting for salary and off-ice deals.

Domestic soccer simply doesn’t pay as much. In the MLS, Orlando City’s Kaka ranks in as the league’s highest-paid players with a salary just north of $7 million. Six teams in the league don’t pay any one player a six-figure salary. Americans and Toronto FC teammates Bradley and Jozy Altidore make $6.5 million and $4.8 million, respectively, but they’re an exception rather than the rule.

It boils down to a lack of opportunity. There’s tons of money to be made playing football, baseball, basketball and even hockey, which makes soccer look a lot less glamorous to up-and-comers.

Will the opportunity always be scarce? Time will tell. Beaufort County has strived to become better in that regard. The Optimist Club’s summer soccer camp wrapped up last week. Chowan’s head coach is also coming to the county in late July to host a camp for younger players, as well as evaluation camps for high school players.

There are great soccer players in the county, as evidenced by the recent success at Washington, Southside and Terra Ceia. However, many of these players that drove that success either don’t play soccer as their primary sport or won’t continue long after high school. So, while we may enjoy the local success, it likely won’t translate to anything grander at the national stage.