Saluting the Sams

As you know, the United States men's soccer team lost to Brazil, 3-2, in the finals of the FIFA Confederations Cup. I was disappointed in this result. No, really, I was. Ask Skip. Yes, had you told me prior to the final (let alone the tournament) that we'd lose by one goal to Brazil, I'd have taken it. However, when you're up 2-0 at halftime, you want the win. I realize that Brazil is more talented than we are, I realize that we weren't really attacking much and were fortunate to be up at all, but that doesn't matter.

2-0 is 2-0 is 2-0. And that should result in a victory.

My perceived "criticism" of their loss is not that at all. As a matter of fact, me being disappointed in the outcome is the greatest compliment I can give our team. I expected them to topple one of the best teams in the world in the final of a prestigious international tournament.

Think about that for a minute.

The United States, after having finished 32nd out of 32 teams in the World Cup only 11 years ago, is now contending with (and beating) the best teams in the world. Ask Spain why they're no longer sporting a winning streak. It's because Uncle Sam walked up to them and told them to sit down, that's why. Landon Donovan said it best in his postgame interview following the heartbreaking loss to Brazil, "we're not really about getting respect from other teams anymore; we want to win." When I heard him say that, I vehemently agreed. Once again, ask Skip.

I'm not proud of the Sams (or Yanks or Stars and Stripes, whichever you prefer) because they lost in close fashion to a world superpower. I'm not proud of them because they finished as runner-up in a major international tournament. No, I'm proud of them because for the first time since I've been watching them play, the United States men's soccer team actually had me expecting to win against an elite opponent. Before it was "just stay close and maybe we can pull it out". Sunday, it was, "we should win this game; and I'm going to be disappointed if we don't." Huge difference.

What does this mean for the 2010 World Cup? Nothing, really. We still trail Costa Rica in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying tourney, and our performance in the Confederations Cup does nothing to help our chances qualifying. We're still a week and a half from being undressed by the Brazilians and beaten by Italy (translation: we're inconsistent). So, in short, there's a ton of work to be done between now and June 11, 2010 (day 1 of World Cup play). The bright side is that we've shown we're the class of our region, fully deserving of a favorable bid from the FIFA Selection Committee. Instead of playing in the Group of Death (as we did in 2006), we should see a slightly less murderous road to the knockout stage.

At the end of the day, I'm thrilled with the United States' showing at the Confederations Cup. Defeating Egypt and Spain in the fashion we did is nothing to sneeze at. Also, being competitive against Italy (with only 10 guys, nonetheless) and challenging Brazil (without Michael Bradley) showed me that this team has indeed turned a corner. My only hope is that we don't rest on our laurels now that we've gotten some love from the soccer world.

Keep on keepin' on, fellas; there's no sense in stopping once you're on the precipice of something even greater.

~~ Lank