As an American fan, I am obviously disappointed the team was not able to secure the Gold Cup title on its own turf, especially by losing to Mexico. Other than the first twenty to twenty-five minutes (which despite having a 2-0 lead was shaky) the performances all around were very poor. However, there are far bigger problems than the performance in the final. There is not one game in this tournament where you can say the team played well, and considering the competition was not very challenging (a loss to Panama, ranked #67, and a slim 1-0 win over Guadeloupe, unranked), the performances look even worse.
This United States team has made great progress in world competition, but I get the feeling that coach Bob Bradley has taken this team as far as he can. Losing to teams like Spain and Brazil are forgivable considering the depths of talent their squads have. However, in the last two major competitions, the US has been knocked out by Ghana and Mexico. Both teams are very good, but the talent level is no higher than the US squad. Those are the type of matches, when the skill is even, where a better coach and tactical plan makes the difference.You get the feeling that despite enjoying the most success in US soccer history, there have been many missed opportunities with this team.
Who would be a good replacement? There are plenty of coaches who would be attracted to coach the US national team, because of its increasing success and number of players on top European clubs. There are three years before the next World Cup in Brazil, and if this team is to achieve a better result than in South Africa, major changes must be made.
