US Soccer: So Close Yet So Far

After watching US Soccer play as well as they did against Spain, beating the top ranked team in the world with a record winning streak on the line, and as bad as they have in a loss in Costa Rica I have mixed feelings about the Americans chances in next year’s World Cup. Of course the US has the talent to hang with the best teams in the world. We beat Spain with a lot on the line and outplayed Brazil, the fifth ranked team, for almost 46 minutes. Then a collapse of monumental proportions saw the Americans give up three (maybe four, as Kaka had a possible goal turned away by the refs after Tim Howard pushed it away ) goals and played on their heels for the entire second half. Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan showed their world class talent with two quick strike goals carrying over the momentum from the semifinal match versus the Spanish. Sure, the US were without Michael Bradley (red card) and Brian Ching (leg injury) but that is no excuse to blow a 2-0 lead. Hopefully we continue to improve and carry this over into qualifying and the World Cup next summer in South Africa. We probably do not have the depth or overall talent to consistently beat the best teams in the world.