Soccer players are mos def not Hoydas...it's as tough as any other sport you wanna name in its own way, just as each serious sport can boast. [Baseball is not a serious sport, for the record.]
The problem is the culture, not the players. They are plenty physically and mentally tough enough to play without the flopping crap, but they can't really afford to give it up unless everyone does. They flop because it works..you flop, you get the call, the other team is penalized, you gain advantage. That culture has to change before Americans will tune in.