Red, White, and Through

Italy opened the door for the U.S, defeating the Czech Republic 2-0. Ghana slammed the door shut, defeating the Stars and Stripes 2-1. The Americans are now sent home to wonder what could have been, and to get ready for FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. Qualifying begins in less than 2 years. Some thoughts on the US's early exit.

1.) The Group
As I've mentioned before, the United States was placed in the hardest group of the tournament, the proverbial "Group of Death" with Ghana, Italy, and the Czech Republic. I had said that the U.S. would need to get at least a point against the Czechs and Italians to put themselves in a position to make the knockout rounds. They did, but could not finish the job against Ghana.

2.) An Offensive Offense
The American offense never materialized. Shots went high, wide, blocked, or straight to the keeper. The entire team managed to only get 4 shots on goal the entire tournament. Clint Dempsey's goal against Ghana, Claudio Reyna hitting the post against the Czech Republic, and two other less memorable shots. When half your team's scoring comes from Italy, there is a problem either at the striker position (McBride) or with the manager (Arena). In the second half against Ghana, the US only took 3 shots, and two were taken by Carlos Bocanegra, a defender.

3.) Bruce Arena
His team looked genuinely unprepared for the Czech onslaught, and as good a team as the Czechs are, they didn't get out of group play either. If a team is unprepared after a solid month of training, one has to look at the coach. His tactics were perplexing. Despite being down against Ghana and desperate for goals, he waited until the game was 2/3 over to bring on Eddie Johnson. He played a befuddling 1-4-4-1 formation, which only allowed for one true striker, and held back his midfielders. In the run-up to the World Cup, Arena spent too much time experimenting with lineups and formations instead of getting a core group of players to play as a team. As much as US Soccer has succeded under Arena, it may need some new blood. Being with the National Team for 8 years, Arena seems to have gotten a little too comfortable in his tactics. May I suggest New England Revolution's Steve Nicol or DC United's Peter Nowak?

4.)Too much hype, not enough substance
Landon Donovan once again had a deer-in-the-headlights look to him on a big stage. It is becoming a safer bet to say that Donovan is never going to be the football messiah USA supporters have been hoping for. Donovan took 1 shot in 3 complete games. 1 shot in 270 minutes, and it wasn't even on goal. Some attacking midfielder. His peers like Michael Essien of Ghana and Christian Ronaldo of Portugal took 11 and 10 shots respectively. Donovan is a big fish in a small-MLS pond playing for a shit team. I was hoping for more out of Damarcus Beasley too.

5.) Changing of the Guard between the posts
There needs to be a new goalkeeper if the US hopes to advance beyond group stages at South Africa 2010. Kasey Keller is 37 and will be 41 come South Africa. In this tournament, Keller looked his age, as he was routinely caught flat-footed and a step slow. The Americans tied for 3rd-most goals given up in the tournament (6). The nets for the 2010 team is Manchester United backup keeper Tim Howard's to lose.

6.) Quality of Opposition
The "send off tour" was pitiful. A loss against Morocco, a 2-0 win against Venezuela and a 1-0 win against Latvia are hardly the stuff of champions. The United States needs to schedule more games against GOOD teams IN EUROPE. Bruce Arena told the media he "shouldn't have scheduled" a friendly against Germany in Dortmund in the spring, where the US lost 4-1. I on the other hand felt that this game exposed some serious flaws in the American side, namely their goalkeeping, depth, and attacking skills. US players complained of "not being ready" for the bright lights, loud crowds, and packed stadiums of the World Cup. Dortmund should have been their wakeup call. Beating Honduras or El Salvador at home isn't going to prove anything anymore. The US needs to forsake some dollars at home in order to acclimate the team to playing on a big stage.

With these suggestions, the US can be a better team in 4 years, but we're going to have to wait that long, because for this World Cup cycle, the United States is out.