Sad to see another World Cup come and go for the U.S. It was fun while it lasted. The team performed to expectations, and the win over Algeria was a thrilling moment for the sport in this country. Can't complain overall about what went down considering that bigger picture.
I was sad to see Rico have such a rough go in this tournament. He deserves better, though he will need to learn to manage his emotions. Still a hothead when things aren't going his way. I just don't think the pairing with Bradley does him any favors since Bradley is reluctant to go forward on even terms and Rico is certainly a D-mid and not much more.
Nice to see Donovan shed a bit of the "landycakes" label. Each of his goals were crucial. Would have like to have seen Dempsey used more as a forward with either Holden or Feilhaber in the midfield, especially without Davies available. Man, how different might this World Cup have been if Davies had not been in that accident? Findley and Gomez were not ready for this. On a related note, I missed not having Onyewu out there, not for his defense so much since DeMerit had a great run, but in the box offensively for corners and set pieces. Well, maybe for his defense too since I was not much of a Bornstein fan before, during or after this Cup.
And while Altidore has promise, I do think he looked a step slow. Especially against Ghana... Bob Bradley might have done well to have kept Ching on the roster to start him today. Altidore maybe needed a rest and Ching would have done more I think to help with possession, tracking back, etc... all those things a vet does to help good clubs.
Oh well. Four more years now.
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