A lot of people seem to think that Team USA should be “proud” of its performance at the World Cup and that it was a success to make it out of the group stage and then lose out in the first round of the knockout stage to Ghana. I think that’s complete bull shit and is completely belittling to the team and the state of US soccer.
Having watched practically every game in this year’s Cup, I think it’s pretty safe to say that the US soccer team has a good deal of talent. The team SHOULD have easily made it out of the group stage and SHOULD have won this game against Ghana and the next against Uruguay. I still don’t think they’re on the level of the elite’s, such as Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands, Portugal, Germany or England, but the team clearly failed to make the impact on this tournament that it easily could have.
In the end, they were just done in by a bunch of failed and missed opportunities by both the players and the coaches. It’s sad because the quick loss likely diminishes the possible increase of followers of the sport in this country despite the fact that it’s starting to look like we’re beginning to legitimately catch up with the world’s elite.
