USA Advancing to the Round of 16

First, before some videos, I have a few thoughts to put out there, aside from the obvious of how amazing it felt when Donovan scored that goal.

I had no real reason to dislike Algeria before.  I didn't particularly know much about the country.  As far as I was concerned, they were famous for being the birthplace of a pair of immigrants to France who produced the greatest footballer of his generation, as well as that great goalkeeper-football fan-philosopher-Nobel laureate Albert Camus (therefore also being the setting for his great books).

Now however, I can throw this onto my list of countries to dislike.  (OK, not seriously but you get the idea, in sporting terms).  They were so intent on playing out political biases that they were actively trying to play defensively for a draw so as to eliminate the US rather than playing for the win they needed to give themselves a chance of advancing.

Well, for that, you Algeria join Costa Rica and others as countries that tempted the football gods with your negativity, or the Costa Rican's horribly blatant time wasting, only to be cruelly and justly felled by that great cliche, the American spirit.

Cliche though that fighting spirit may be, how awesome is this team's heart?  You really couldn't have it any other way.  People always deride the US for lacking a style, the way the Brazilians have (or used to at least) joga bonita, the Italians the catenaccio, Germans the machine-like precision, etc.  But the US has a swagger and belief, without being cocky, that suggests you'll never outwork them and they'll never give up, and I love it, not the least because it's easy to rally around (check out the crowd videos below) and of course the late drama is amazing (if particularly heart attack/ulcer inducing).

Check out this list of comebacks:

-USA 1 - Algeria 0: Donovan scoring in the 91st minute.
-USA 2 - Slovenia 2: Two down, tying the game in the 82nd minute, winning it in the 85th.
-USA 2 - El Salvador 1: OK, a B team friendly, but Kljestan scored in the 92nd minute for the win.
-USA 2 - Costa Rica 2: Bornstein's 95th minute goal wins CONCACAF qualifying, on a night being played with recently injured Charlie Davies on everyone's mind.
-USA 2 - Panama 1: In the Gold Cup, a B/C team playing, US wins in overtime (105th minute).
-USA 2 - Haiti 2: Again in the Gold Cup, probably a C team playing (because otherwise a tie against Haiti is beyond embarrassing, and even still...), Stuart Holden ties it in the 92nd minute.
-USA 2 - El Salvador 2: In El Salvador for qualifying, two down, Jozy scores in the 77th minute followed by Hejduk equalizing in the 88th minute.

Those are merely the matches the US either tied or won on a goal after the 80th minute in 2010 and 2009. It doesn't count matches the US tied or won with earlier goals coming back from deficits, like against England or at Honduras in qualifying, or scoring 3 goals against Egypt to complete the five goal swing on the day needed to advance in the Confederations Cup.

Though I don't need to go over the particular performances by US players because we've all seen it, a few demand praise:

-Donovan has truly become a leader and star, if he wasn't already.  He keeps this up, he'll be like Wayne Rooney in that Nike ad with all the baby names, and I'd even consider it.
-Michael Bradley is impressing everyone, not just the US faithful.  It's not just his tackling and fabulous late runs into the box, which I guess not everyone has seen since he played at Heerenveen and now at Borussia Mönchengladbach, but also the clever footwork and passing -- see his play that set Donovan up leading to the goalbox scrum in which Jozy blasted over.
-Stuart Holden -- he's playing the Mark Madsen role of bench cheerleader and team celebrator perfectly.  Maybe it's because he's so noticeable with his blond hair, but he's certainly managed to get to both Bradley and Donovan fast enough to start the big pile-ons.  Kudos Mr. Holden, kudos.  
-Altidore is playing great in all areas except goal scoring, which should be sort of important because he's a striker, but he's now teamed with Donovan to be responsible for assisting on both late goals against Slovenia and Algeria.  We wouldn't be here without him.  And he also pancaked the entire US team celebratory mob on top of Donovan.  He's a big man to be doing that.  Not to be outdone of course, I must mention Jay DeMerit, late arriving from the back, somersaulting over the pile and nearly taking the head off one of the team's staff.  Great stuff.
-Steve Cherundolo is pretty good. I'd forgotten how good he was, I mean he's the captain of a Bundesliga team!  To think Jonathan Spector started pushing him for a starting spot.

Lastly, gotta give props to Bob Bradley.  I, as many have over his reign, have railed against him for his tactics and team selection.  Well, he's gotten every decision spot on this World Cup.  I have new respect for the man.

Lots of videos going 'round, here are some of my favorites that I've seen to keep giving you goosebumps:




And the scene at one of my faves, Lucky Bar in downtown DC:



In Seattle:

More USA-Mexico; CONCACAF Breakdown

A couple of thoughts on what ARF posted:

-Agree about Spector not starting. It makes no sense. During the Confederations Cup, found a back four that worked well together, only to alter it in the match that mattered most. I don't get it.

-Harsh on Howard. Does any goalkeeper in the world stop either of those strikes? If not, what else could he have done?

-I didn't even comment on the Mexican fans, because I didn't see anything I didn't expect. Going to play at Azteca is what it is. Opposing teams will get things thrown at them. They will not get any calls. Actually, since I expected the Mexicans would get every call (and the referee didn't disappoint), I wasn't really that upset about it. At least no one got a red card and there wasn't an egregiously bad penalty. Expectations are low for the referee and for the Mexican fans. Both were par for the course.

Going forward, Bradley does have legitimate selection problems, not just self-created ones. Dempsey and Donovan are obviously two of the best eleven for the United States and have to be in the lineup. But neither has a natural position on the international level. Or at the very least, Donovan doesn't. He can exist as a forward in MLS, but not in international play. So playing him on the right as a midfielder is a natural choice. But that requires he maintain width, and therefore he won't have the ball at his feet as much as the Americans would like. Or Bradley can give Donovan freedom to wander, but Donovan also needs to be able to get back and help his rightside defender. Dempsey is a different case; his natural position is probably an off or deep set striker role. But assuming Bradley isn't going to play three strikers, this would move either Jozy or Davies to the bench. And then who would play on the left wing? The Americans have no competent true left wingers (Robbie Rogers is closest, but proved again in the Gold Cup he's not international quality). So I also understand Dempsey playing on the left. It gets all the best Americans players on the pitch. But they are also playing no true wing players. If both Dempsey and Donovan are free to wander, the team will have severe trouble maintaining width and playing with balance. Not to mention I don't have lots of faith in either backtracking and helping defensively. Not questioning the effort of either; it's just not the type of players they are.

With their loss and Honduras' victory over Costa Rica, the Americans still have plenty of work to do in CONCACAF. It's a four team race at this point after El Salvador lost to Trinidad and Tobago; it's difficult to imagine either team climbing to fourth in the table. Between the US, Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras, three will qualify directly for South Africa, and one team will get the dreaded home-and-home playoff with fifth place from South America. The current table and remaining fixtures:

Costa Rica: 12
Honduras: 10
United States: 10
Mexico: 9

Costa Rica: Mex, at ElSal, Tri, at US
Honduras: Tri, at Mex, US, at ElSal
United States: ElSal, at Tri, at Hon, CR
Mexico: at CR, Hon, ElSal, at Tri

Both Honduras and the US will be heavy favorites in Round 7. The Mexico-Costa Rica match will go a long way in determining the composition of the rest of the group. If Costa Rica were to win, they would be six points clear of Mexico with only three matches left and would likely be safe. Meanwhile Mexico would be four points back of third if the favorites win, and could be back in danger despite a very manageable final three matches. If Mexico were to win in San Jose, Honduras and the US could sit with 13 points and Mexico and Costa Rica would have 12. Mexico would likely be safe with their schedule, while current group leaders Costa Rica would suddenly be in danger of the playoff. Both because of their schedule and current point level, Honduras are still the most likely squad to end up in the playoff. But they've certainly announced their intentions with Wednesday's 4-0 thrashing of the group leaders.

Of course, the Americans can't control the rest of these factors. They can only win. And they must. Six points from the next two matches should put them in decent position heading into the final two matches against Hondruas and Costa Rica. And El Salvador at home and Trinidad and Tobago on the road are very winnable matches. Anything besides two victories could land the United States in South America for World Cup qualification. I probably don't need to comment on what a disaster that could be.

Heartbreak at Azteca

It didn't matter that the Americans scored first. Or that the Americans beat Spain. Or that Mexico isn't quite Mexico right now. At full-time, the Mexicans were once against victorious at Azteca.

For eight minutes, the Americans came out and attacked. They looked poised and confident. Their reward was an eighth-minute tally from Charlie Davies, courtesy of a beautiful through ball from Landon Donovan from midfield. But that was mostly the end of the attacking for the Americans, and nearly the end of the possession. Time and time, when the United States established possession, the backline gave possession away cheaply and allowed the Mexicans to go on the offensive again. Eventually they paid the price.

Getting toward the end of time, it looked as though the United States might be able to escape with a draw. But nearly as soon as he came on, late substitute Miguel Sabah found himself all alone ten yards from goal with a deflected ball at his feet. He rifled the ball past a helpless Tim Howard as a sense of relief spread throughout the nation to the south.

Bob Bradley will have a couple of questions to answer following this defeat. Did the United States pack it in too early? After the first goal they essentially stopped playing any offensive football at all. Worse was that, they failed to consistently close down space in midfield by applying pressure. The first goal was a direct result of this lack of pressure. Also puzzling was Brian Ching's appearance in the starting lineup, particularly after his medicore showing in the Gold Cup. Bradley evidently went with experience rather than the youth of Altidore, and surely also hoped Ching would help the United States hold possession in order to ease pressure from the Mexican attack. Instead Ching did the opposite, giving the ball away repeatedly. Raw as Altidore is, he's simply too talented not to have in the lineup, especially if he is held out in favor of Ching. Let's hope that doesn't happen any more. Altidore did finally come in in the 76th minute. The introduction Stuart Holden was also a surprise.

The next two matches in CONCACAF are now must win for the Americans. Gooch picked up a yellow and will miss the match with Trinidad and Tobago. Honduras' thrashing of Costa Rica has busted the race to not finish fourth wide open.

USA-Mexico: 24 Hours To Kickoff

So much is unknown heading into this latest battle between the two giants of CONCACAF. Mostly, no one knows what to make of either of the sides. Who is the real United States team anyway? The team that was embarrassed for the first half of the Confederations Cup? The team that thumped Egypt, toppled Spain, and nearly beat Brazil? The team that never stood a chance in Costa Rica? The team that laid down for their biggest rival on home soil? Because of those inconsistencies, it is impossible to know what kind of performance the Americans will give. Perhaps the Confederations Cup was a turning point. Perhaps not. The answer will be on display tomorrow.

The Mexicans hope to have found their own turning point in the 5-0 Gold Cup thrashing of the Americans, ending a decade of frustration on American soil. This is likely to boost Mexican confidence in front of kickoff, but will it make any difference against a totally different lineup once the whistle is blown? The Mexicans have been ghastly so far in World Cup qualifying, finishing tied with Jamaica and advancing on goal difference in the third round of CONCACAF qualifying. Their poor performance has already cost Sven-Goran Erikkson his job, leading to the return of Javier Aguirre. A record of two wins and three losses so far in the final stage of qualifying does not bode well for one of the two CONCACAF superpowers.

This match is about pressure, but there are different kinds of pressure for the two sides. For the Americans, there is the pressure of the atmosphere itself. Azteca is terrible. The altitude, the smog, the lunatic fans: there's a reason no one wins there. Because this is an isolated one game World Cup qualifier rather than a back to back, the US will have exactly one day to get used to the atmosphere in Mexico City. Perfect. But there's also a different kind of pressure on Bob Bradley and the US players. Two decades ago there were few football fans born here in the States, and they were heard from even less. But the growth of the sport over the last two decades, as well as the growth of the internet as a way for football fans to communicate, has created expectations for the USMNT. Much was made of how surprised the team was to the hostile reaction back home to the listless 3-0 defeat to Brazil in the group stage. For most of its history, the team has never really had outside expectations. Now they do. There are fans that care passionately about American football, and that has to be a good thing. But it also means that for every failure, there will be criticism and even anger. If the United States lose in Gold Cup-esque fashion, expect some more of that anger to be aimed at Bradley in particular.

For Mexico, there is a different kind of pressure. They are playing at home against their hated rival, and they are expected to win. Nothing else is good enough. If the scoreline is unflattering getting on in the second half, will the Mexicans press and make a mistake? Take out their frustrations with an untimely tackle and red card (though no Marquez to do it)? One counterattack or opening could be just the opportunity the Americans need. Along with the pressure of an entire nation expecting a win, there is the larger World Cup picture. At the moment, Mexico sits fourth in the CONCACAF qualification table, and would play a home-and-away playoff with the fifth place team from CONMEBOL. The Mexicans surely want no part of that, as there would be a genuine possibility they would not qualify for the World Cup. For Mexico to not qualify (in CONCACAF no less!) would be completely humiliating. In the worst case scenario, if Mexico lost to the United States, Honduras defeated Costa Rica at home, and El Salvador won in Trinidad, the table would look like this after six matches:

United States: 13
Costa Rica: 12
Honduras: 10
El Salvador: 8
Mexico: 6
Trinidad and Tobago: 2

Mexico would then have only four matches to make up the necessary points and qualify for South Africa. Mexico do have a fairly favorable schedule from here on out, getting Honduras and El Salvador at home and traveling to Trinidad and Costa Rica. The Mexicans would be substantial favorites in all but the Costa Rica match. So a win against the United States and everything is likely fine as far as qualification goes. Lose, and they may well be watching the World Cup and television. And surely the Mexican players know it.

Plan on heading out to the bar for the match tomorrow, because that's always the liveliest way to go. I'll be at Chicago's finest football bar. Or you can watch it from home on...mun2?! ESPN was not able to acquire the rights to this game, so the only English broadcast of the game is on mun2, owned by Telemundo (which is owned by NBC). What is mun2? I'm so glad you asked. Thanks to this press release, I know now that mun2 is "the lifestyle cable network for bicultural Latinos 18-34...and offers popular series that include 'The Chicas Project,' '18 and Over,' and 'Reventon Countdown.'” Some of my favorites. Mun2 is also "culturally-grounded and reflects the best of both worlds – mun2 is uniquely American." I'm so glad I have press releases to tell me these things. Mun2 apparently reaches 30 million households, including my own, though I never knew I had it. For everyone else...find a football bar. This is still an improvement over the last USA-Mexico qualifier at Azteca, which had no English language broadcast at all.

Other previews: Landon Donovan is a leader. The Americans, perhaps rightfully for the first time ever, like their chances. World Cup positioning, not just qualification, is at stake. The United States looks to make history. Grant Wahl re-lives memorable US-Mexico moments. A glance at the physical and psychological toll that is Azteca. Five reasons the US can win. And in case anybody forgot, we stole Texas, which I guess is reason enough for chanting "Osama" at the US National Team.

Almost Champions-Brazil 3, US 2

After blowing a 2-0 lead against Brazil and almost winning the Confederations Cup, I suppose some part of me should be upset the day after. But I'm having a hard time summoning that emotion. The reality is that in one week we played Spain and Brazil to the best of our ability, winning once and losing a close game against two of the elite sides in the world. It's just hard to not be generally pleased. But things are never quite as they seem right after the game. We weren't ever really as bad as we played against Brazil the first time, but no one should be confusing the US with an elite side just because we held our own for a week. Respect is earned on a longer timeline than that.

That said, almost all good things to say about yesterday. Dempsey got a terrific touch on an early ball from Spector, who needs to stay in the lineup. Just thought I'd say that again. The second goal featured some wonderful interplay between Donovan and Davies, with Donovan getting a goal that he certainly deserved. I thought the most impressive part of the play was actually Davies' ball back to Donovan, a one touch play that went past the defender and put the ball directly on Landon's feet. So often we lack the class to complete that ball at a key moment like that. Davies has continued to impress. Kudos also to Donovan, for not attempting to pass when he was all alone 15 yards from goal (I kid, I kid). My only criticism is of Feilhaber, who simply needs to stop committing dumb fouls. And I wish he would, because he's an orchestrator out on the pitch.

I mostly agree with ArmenoRican about the subs. I thought that Bornstein in as a midfielder was particuarly strange at that phase of the game, though I didn't think he played badly necessarily. The Casey substitution I sort of understood, if only because so little time was left and we had an opportunity on a corner kick. But the lack of depth (Bradley suspended, no Maurice Edu, the fact that DeMarcus Beasley died five years ago) really hurt in terms of the substitutions available too, to be fair.

It's interesting watching this Brazil team. I can see why Dunga gets criticized, because they really don't play with flair, even when they win. I do think some of that is just about personnel; Brazil doesn't really have as many "showy" players as they've had in the past, Robinho aside. That backline is full of tough, physical players like Maicon. Hell, they're practically Italy back there. Except good. And they still get forward. In the end, the Brazilian fans are just going to have to accept that this will never be the most beautiful team they have. But they just might win the World Cup anyway.

For the United States, the B team is evidently starting out the Gold Cup, but a date in Mexico City isn't too far away. Hopefully this is the American squad we'll see from now on.

Instant Reaction to Confederations Cup Final

The championship that got away? A heartbreaking end to a fabulous tournament results in Brazil winning the Confederations Cup, USA finishing as runners up, and Spain as the third place team.

First things first, I want to salute the US for playing great football and having a wonderful tournament in which they showed abundant heart and perseverance and tenacity. Many players stood out, including Landon Donovan who thoroughly deserved to cap a brilliant tournament with his goal on a breathtaking counterattack. Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit were rocks, Tim Howard was great, Clint Dempsey responded well to those questioning his recent play, Spector made the right back spot his, Benny Feilhaber looks ready to return full time with the national team, and Jozy Altidore and Charlie Davies provide hope that the US can produce a quality strike duo.

While taking nothing away from Brazil, who attacked relentlessly and deserved their victory, I do want to briefly question Bob Bradley's decision making in the second half. I gave him credit for his decisions in the Egypt and Spain matches, but here I have to question him. His double substitution of Sacha Kljestan for Feilhaber and Jonathan Bornstein for Altidore was disastrous. Dempsey was clearly dead at that point and even pushing him up top just wasn't going to cut it, and ultimately it was Dempsey who was beat by Lucio on the game winning goal. Kljestan has been in awful form and should not have been used, and by removing Feilhaber the US no longer had any possession in the middle of the field. Kljestan might have completed one pass during his time on the field, the remainder finding only those famous yellow shirts. And then finally Bradley put in Connor Casey, who time and again this tournament has proven that he's lazy and really shouldn't be playing international level football.

Hopefully this will spur the US on to greater things next summer at the World Cup. Michael Bradley (whose absence was felt greatly during the second half of the final as the US clearly tired), Jermaine Jones, and Maurice Edu will bolster the midfield, hopefully Altidore will continue to develop (as well as Freddy Adu), and the return of a healthy Brian Ching and Steve Cherundolo will provide depth to the front and back lines. All in all I enjoyed the Confederations Cup and I'm proud of the US performance, and now I turn my attention to the Gold Cup and trying to get a victory at Azteca. Dos-a-cero!

US 2, Spain 0-The Day After

Comments from the players after yesterday's shocker:

Coach Vicente Del Bosque says the Americans caught his side by surprise.

Coach Bradley says shutting down Xavi was the key. See HalaMadrid's entry for more analysis on Xavi.

Charlie Davies says that the Spanish backs were scared of his pace.

Iker Casillas demonstrates how to not display class in defeat, then throw his teammates under the bus: “In all sincerity, only one time in 10 do I think we would lose against them. But yesterday, they deserved to reach the final.”

Then: "It just goes to show that the team that plays better and holds better possession doesn’t always win. Luck doesn’t always follow you, so you have to look at positives."

And finally: "Defensively, we lacked the final 10 meters in front of goal. Those two absurd, rare plays cost us the goals."

For the record, all of those statements are of course totally true. It's just that making "well, we're still better, so there" statements right after losing has to be the worst, most petty kind of revenge.

Also on the sour grapes front, Capdevila thought a foul should have been whistled on the play against Altidore, winning the award for the single dumbest thing a Spanish player said in response to the defeat. Altidore would have gotten more resistance from a lawn chair.

Web Analysis

Five reasons Spain lost according to Eduardo Alvarez.

Martin Rogers says the US no longer have to be afraid to play top competition.

Shane Evans apparently will be taking ballet dancing lessons.

Carlos Bocanegra returned to lead the defense.

Grant Wahl ranks the victory fifth all time in US Soccer history, behind Mexico (2002 World Cup), England (1950 World Cup), Portugal (2002 World Cup) and Colombia (1994 World Cup). Jamie Trecker says it's the biggest victory ever. The NYT Soccer blog Goal asks the question but doesn't give the answer. I tend to agree with Wahl. We may have defeated a better side yesterday then the 2002 Mexico win, but a national side's "biggest win" should come on the world's biggest stage. The Confederations Cup is an official tournament afterthought. Everyone knows Italy won the World Cup. Who won the last Confederations Cup? It was Brazil. And I had to look it up, because I forgot. So maybe this could be the "best win", but I don't see how it could be the biggest.

This Guardian take describes the rise of the United States as a footballing nation.

Finally George Vecsey of the Times dubs the victory a "Miracle on Grass".

Preview: Spain v. U.S.

Early on, the question seemed to be whether Brazil or Italy would be playing Spain in the Confederations Cup semis. But, the United States would have none of it, and put all the pieces together against Egypt to get the result they needed. Their prize? Playing against what is unquestionably the best side in the world right now. While Spain are the heavy favorites, the promised Spain-Brazil final could go the way or this year's Lakers-Cavs final if the States or South Africa get a result. And of those two, the States likely has a better shot of crashing the party.

Spain is expected to run a 4-3-1-2 lineup with Casillas in goal, Puyol and Pique in the center of the defense and Sergio Ramos and Capdevilla as wingbacks. The midfield will almost certainly be anchored by Xabi Alonso with Riera on the left. Cazorla would play on the right wing, although no one should be surprised to see Cesc out there to shore up the interior of the midfield, one of the U.S.'s brighter spots with Bradley and Clark/Feilhaber. Up top, who else, Villa and Torres. Just two of the best strikers in the world.

For the U.S., Howard will make return in goal, with Onyewu and Demerit in the center of the defense. If Bocanegra passes a late fitness test, expect him to replace Demerit. Spector and Bornstein will man the defensive wings. Clark and Bradley will play in the midfield, with Altidore up top. Dempsey, Donovan, and Davies will be on hand as well.

It's obvious who has the better players, with Spain's lineup made up of stars and starters from some of the world's best teams. But the days of MLS players making up most of the U.S. national team are gone. Most of the Americans have played or currently play in the second and third tier European leagues. In this way, they've seen top flight opposition much more often then their predecessors, and shouldn't be stunned by what's in front of them.

Better yet, the States played Spain very tough a little over a year ago, during a Euro preparation friendly, when only a second half goal from Xavi gave Spain the 1-0 win. While it was in the Euro that Spain actually came into their own, the side that played against the U.S. was no makeshift squad - all the stars were there. Add to this the fact that the U.S. has nothing to lose, and has seemingly begun to believe in itself, and we could be in for a very interesting matchup in Bloemfontein.

The keys for a competitive match, and perhaps another miracle, will be to exhibit poise and patience in the face of Spain's likely overwhelming possession of the ball. The centerbacks will have to bring their A-game as their major advantage, height, will be of little use against a Spain side that exploits quick interior passing and darting runs to perfection. Bradley must try and take as much control as he can in the midfield, a daunting task with the two figurative and litera "X" factors in Spain's midfield. Finally, the State's counters must develop quickly and incisively. Altidore must do better than he has this tournament, and Dempsey's scoring touch needs to figure prominantly. Donovan, the best American on the ball, needs to have a big game as well, as he and Bradley may determine how the counters develop, and what possession the U.S. can have. A strong Spector would help as well, keeping Capdevilla occupied with defense instead of pushing forward. Otherwise, the U.S. could well end up locked in their half for much of 90 minutes.

For Spain the key is, well, to play like Spain. Puyol and Pique have seen much better attackers than what the U.S. can offer, and shouldn't be tested by the indiviual players as much as they may be by good team play. Puyol's lack of speed in particular may be an issue against a younger U.S. side. Patience, possession, and passing are Spain's virtues, and may be all they need to beat the U.S. That said, Spain suffered against a well organized Iraq team that was comfortable without the ball. Coach Bradley's interviews seem to imply that his team is ready to give up possession and wait for the counter. While some say this plays right into Spain's hands, I don't think the U.S. has any other option. To fight fire with fire against Spain is to try and out-attack and out-pass them. Brazil may be the only side in the world that could possibly do that as of today.

Prediction: Too much talent, skill and speed for the Americans to handle. While last year's friendly shows the U.S. can play with Spain, this Spanish side is hitting its stride before the World Cup with a stretch of 35 unbeaten and 15 consecutive wins. Self-belief and nothing to lose can only take you so far. Spain wins a competitive match with their last goal coming late, 3-1.

What to Make of the U.S.A.

First things first, I want to thank Francisco for asking me to be a part of the FutbolNation blog team. The man has some serious writing chops and I hope everyone will be as entertained by our posts and as I have been by his e-mails in the past. In the future you'll see me write about DC United, Manchester United, and Juventus, but today I want to focus on the the U.S. Men's National Team.

It's pretty amazing how 90 minutes can alter one's perception of an entire tournament. As of Sunday morning, the Confederations Cup was a complete disaster for the US, having lost to Italy under unfortunate circumstances and capitulating against Brazil. A day later and the US is essentially telling all their critics to "f--- off!"

Admittedly I've recently increasingly soured on Bob Bradley, and some horrible coaching decisions and subsequent terrible play of some against Italy and Brazil only made matters worse.

No one will ever call Bradley a world class coach, and for the US to ever challenge consistently during international tournaments it will need a coach who has a tactical acumen lacking in the current US soccer coaching circles. But Bradley has still done fairly well during his tenure. The US was not entirely overmatched last summer during a string of friendlies against top sides (Spain, England, and Argentina), they've continued regional dominance over Mexico, and until recently World Cup qualifying has gone smoothly.

On the other hand, Bradley has developed few young players, makes strange team selections, and often plays horrible tactics. He has largely ignored Charlie Davies until the Egypt game, a speedy player that brings qualities often lacking in US forwards. He also has an aversion to Jose Francisco Torres, one of the few US players who is skillful and comfortable on the ball and can help control the tempo of possession. Bradley kept calling on Eddie Johnson long after he brought anything to the table, and the same can be said of DaMarcus Beasley, who needs an extended run at the club level before getting another whiff of the National Team.

But I'll give credit where credit is due. While I was lambasting Bradley's decision to play Clint Dempsey against Egypt after a series of uninspired performances, he stuck with him. The key however was the decision to push Dempsey forward, which is a much better position for him than playing from the wing. Similarly, I've greatly championed Bradley's deployment of Landon Donovan on the wing (despite his continued inability to hit a decent cross -- can anyone on the US team hit a decent free kick?!).

As for the rest of the team, I've been greatly impressed with Oguchi, I think DeMerit has acquitted himself well, and I'm happy to see Jonathan Spector playing closer to the promise many saw in him as a youngster signing originally for Man U. The center of the midfield continues to bring with it selection issues. Clark has replaced Pablo Mastroeni as a walking red card waiting to happen, but deploying him with Michael Bradley allows the younger Bradley to do more damage marauding forward the way he's done so well for Heerenveen and Borussia Mönchengladbach. But playing that duo leaves out Benny Feilhaber, one of the few players who can change a game with his vision and ability on the ball. While I would prefer to have Feilhaber starting in the middle, his current super-sub role has worked out in the Confederations Cup.

So, do you agree/disagree? I don't have any real novel thoughts here, but just wanted to get the discussion rolling. Let me know what you think.