World Cup 2010 Recap: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for the US

The Yanks are going home.

After a two and a half week roller coaster ride of emotions, the US MNT finally ran out of gas against Ghana. Less than 24 hours after their tough loss, the post-mortem is already in full effect, with questions ranging from why the US looked so bad in the first half, to whether or not Coach Bradley will be the coach come Brazil in 2014. Here's a look at some answers to those "pressing" questions.

Coach:

Bob Bradley has done a great job with this team.  This needs to be said a thousand times by any US MNT supporter.

Qualifying for the World Cup group stage is not as easy as many people believe, and even with the favorable draw, getting out of the group stage is always an accomplishment. Yet, already the questions regarding whether or not Bradley will continue on are starting to flow.

In his post-game interview, a reporter asked Bradley about his future, and Bradley, with his ever present sense of self, responded that it's a process, one that hasn't started yet. Alexi Lalas was indifferent about Bradley's future, as he stated that while Bradley is a good coach, there might be better options out there. National soccer coaches are not like coaches for any other sport, as they don't typically stay for multiple World Cups, as Bruce Arena is the only American coach to do so.

Bradley is not free from errors, and his most glaring one is breaking up the momentum building squad of the Algeria game and inserting Ricardo Clark over Edu during the Round of 16 match with Ghana. Bradley, as it turns out, is merely mortal. 

Yet even with Bradley's tactical faux pas, he is the man to lead our US MNT.  He's amassed 38 wins over his four year tenure, trailing only Arena who had the benefit of two World Cup cycles. Bradley's stoic nature, coupled with his passion for the game, is not only great for the team; it's great for US soccer as a whole. I'm sure there are better coaches, and I'm sure that our Soccer Federation is looking for them, but Bradley has earned the right to coach the US MNT. If he wants to be done (which many people think he might), then let him be done.  But if he wants to coach, I say there are far worse choices...

Players:

This is where our future looks potentially ugly. Come 2014, our national team will look drastically different than the team that brought American soccer into the semi-mainstream. Age is a factor, as our defensive leaders Howard, Bocanegra, and Cherundolo are 31, while our arguably most aerial defender, Jay DeMerit, is 30.  By the time 2014 qualifying comes around, the US is looking at an entirely new defensive line-up. 

The two household names for the MNT, Donovan and Dempsey, are 28 and 27, respectively. They will probably earn some caps in the future, yet their better days might already be behind them.

Yet there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber (who showed flashes of brilliance against Algeria and Ghana), Jozy Altidore, Robbie Findley, and the two Jonathans, Bornstein and Spector, are all under the age of 25. These players got meaningful minutes, and even more importantly, experience playing on the world stage. Brad Guzan, who backed up Tim Howard at goal, has been playing steadily for Aston Villa in the EPL, and figures to be a solid presence in goal when Howard inevitable retires. 

What needs to happen, and what is already occurring, is that more of our young players are playing in the European leagues. Everyone but Findley and Bornstein in the above list are getting work in a UEFA league, and as more of our players learn from the more historic leagues, their skills and strengths will only improve.

Future:

The US's under-17 squad had a relatively disappointing World Cup as well, finishing 2-2, mirroring our national team and getting knocked out of the Round of 16.  What's relatively disappointing is that the lack of consistent offense, as they put up a measly four goals over four games. While losing 2-1 to Spain isn't depressing, only managing one lone goal against the always powerful Malawi team is. The name we should all remember from this U-17 squad is Jack McInerney. Accounting for half of our less-than-creative offense, this 18 year old is already getting minutes with the L.A. Galaxy, and a move to Europe will only help him become our forward of the future.

On the flip side, our U-20 team is not lacking in goal scoring, finishing second at the 2009 U-20 World Cup, and remembering the names Perica Marošević, silly Dilly Duka, and Jared Jeffrey will be important as they begin to play a part in the run up to 2014.

The U-23, which does not play a World Cup, but rather is our representative to the Summer Olympic Games, will feature all four of the above names in 2012, and a good indication of the MNT's success will be based off the results of that competition. It's too early to handicap it, and it's way to early to predict, as the tea does not even get together until late 2010, or early 2011.  However, the first thing the US Soccer Federation needs to do is appoint a coach to lead these players.

Overall, our future is bright, and only will get brighter by the following...

Intangibles:

Everyone remembers where they were for the Miracle on Ice.  People who don't even like hockey, or like my father who always said if they took away the blue line, he wouldn't know the difference, remember that event either from living through it, watching it, or hearing stories about it.

Even with our early exit, the US MNT created such moments with their gutsy come-from-behind wins, none more important than Landon Donovan's strike against Algeria. There are no words to accurately describe the impact of this goal on the future, so I'll leave you with a video, one that puts to rest the myth that Americans do not care about soccer: