American Revolution?

In the wake of the USA’s 3-2 loss to Brazil in the finals of the Confederations Cup, talk of American soccer has shifted from this tournament as a possible turning point for the sport in America to the usual congratulatory talk of simply keeping up on the big stage. The question remains, as always when the US comes so close but falls so short, when will American soccer bring itself on par with the rest of the world?

After the upset of Spain, it felt for a short time like the US was ready to turn that corner. That seemed even more likely as the team found themselves up 2-0 at the half of the match with Brazil. Even so, Brazil showed immediately as the second half began that the US team simply is not ready. After scoring their first goal of the match and gaining some confidence back, Brazil simply leaned on the US until they fell over. Overwhelmingly, it seems as though the US just cannot run for a full game with the elite teams of the world. It is difficult to tell if the second half meltdown was just a function of Brazil’s superiority, or if the strain of playing at such a high level against the world’s best for 3 halves prior to giving up those 3 goals just finally caught up with the Americans. Either way, it seems that the US team still has a long way to go to win major international competitions.

This experience will no doubt help the team prepare for next year’s World Cup, and will most likely help the US enter the World Cup with more anticipation from fans at home than ever before. The question will remain though as to whether the Confederations Cup was a huge step forward for American soccer, or just another in a line of disappointing performances that will continue into next summer. We’ll find out as the team returns to South Africa next year, to show on a much larger stage.