Wearing the Wrong Color

I almost sent my baby girl out into the world today wearing a green dress that Natalie had set out for her. Luckily, I discovered my mistake and changed Abby into a red white and blue floral print shirt that she wore on the 4th of July. The U.S. plays Mexico today in a World Cup qualifier in Mexico City at the daunting Azteca Stadium. They need all the support they can get, and Abby was happy to oblige.

US Soccer Tickets

The U.S. will be playing El Salvador in a World Cup 2010 Qualifying match at Rio Tinto Stadium on September 5th. If you are interested in getting good seats before they go on sale to the public, comment or email me before Thursday. It is a truly amazing sports experience. The passion, speed of play, and technical ability displayed in these games is second to none.

My Thoughts on the US Loss

Bob Bradley has discovered a truly great starting 11 during the Confederations Cup. There was just too much drop off in talented, in form players on the tournament roster. Having said that, barring a ton of injuries, the US should be in a lot better shape depth wise next summer. There are a lot of midfielders who have a full year to round themselves into form.

For me, three factors did the Americans in. Michael Bradley's absence (due to a red card suspension), the immediate second-half goal from Brazil, and good old fashioned fatigue.

If Michael Bradley was holding down the midfield, making timely tackles, and sparking quick counter attacks, the game plays out differently in the second half. That coupled with the magical Failhaber for Altidore sub with Dempsey moving up top could have proved all-important.

For obvious reasons, the Brazil goal directly after second half kickoff was their most important. Demerit had good positioning in the play and made a good, agressive challenge. A combination of skill and luck saw Fabiano's fantastic turn and shot slip just between Demerits legs and out of Howard's reach into the back of the net.

The US just didn't have enough in the tank in the second 45 to keep the kind of pressure on the Brazilian midfield that they were able to put on Spain. As a result, Brazil was relentless in their attacking either flank.

If the US had been able to avoid one or two of these things, they stood a good chance. Having to deal with all three was too much.

In the end, they lost on one of the best headers I have ever seen. The power and precision of Lucios finish was second to none.

2-0

2-0 is a beautiful scoreline for any U.S. Men's National Soccer Team fan, and it just got that much more pretty. You see, the U.S. has made it a habit in recent years of beating arch rival Mexico by that particular scoreline. Today, the U.S. knocked Spain out of the tournament in the semifinal of the Confederations Cup in South Africa by the same score. Stunning. Inspiring. Beautiful. Highlights below.