Jan Koller is a big reason why the United States is unlikely to win a FIFA World Cup anytime soon — and not just for what he did yesterday.

In that regard, think of the 6-foot-7 1/2 striker from the Czech Republic as a human exclamation point.

To be sure he was yesterday in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Koller's header five minutes into the opening-round match was the only goal the Czechs really needed in a 3-0 drubbing of the U.S. Only in soccer can a three-point difference be a blowout and this one was.

Frankly, what Koller did before leaving with a thigh injury said a lot about what the U.S. is up against in trying to win this or any other Cup quadrennial competition.

With his size, had Koller grown up in Los Angeles or Lexington, Ky., instead of Lhota, he would have likely been a basketball player. The bolohead player the Czechs call the "Dinosaur" would be following the NBA Finals right now instead of the World Cup, where he dealt an early blow to U.S. hopes of getting out of group play.

Whether it is fatal remains to be seen. But remember that only one team has come back from an opening loss to advance beyond group play in two previous World Cups.

Where Koller grew up, it was more likely a choice between soccer or, well, soccer since the Czech Republic's other main sporting exports, ice hockey and tennis, don't have all that many at his height.

So when the U.S. lined up against the Czechs yesterday, it was getting the best from a nation of about 10 million, the population of Los Angeles County, had to offer.

While we proudly send our best soccer players to this World Cup, most of the best athletes from our population of 300 million have already found their way into basketball, baseball, football or any other of a dozen sports.

This is not a knock on the U.S. squad, but an illustration that there just aren't nearly enough players to draw from for this country to hold its own with the Czechs, not to mention Brazil, Argentina, Germany, etc.

Sixteen years ago Czechoslovakia crushed the U.S., 5-1, in an 0-3 American showing and things were supposed to be much closer this time for a couple of reasons. One is that three years later the former Czechoslovakia broke apart, with two-thirds of the population forming the Czech Republic and the rest becoming the Slovak Republic.

Then, too, it was a largely collegiate U.S. squad that was humbled in Italy. This time, with a roster of players who had grown up through youth programs and either played overseas or in the MLS, the U.S. was supposed to make a battle of it. It didn't.

The U.S. has two more group matches, Saturday against three-time Cup champion Italy and then Ghana.

Without a swift turnaround, the U.S. could be a goner.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.