USA World Cup Wrap-Up: My Thoughts

1. Nooooooooooooo! Seriously?!?  We have Cameron, Gonzalez and Besler in and we can't shut down the middle? I respected Beckerman before, but now it's clear how key he was in the mid. Cameron may be Fresh, but he's no Beckerman.
2. Fuuuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkk -- giving up a second immediately after the first? this was a backbreaker.  Or would have been, had the Belgians not spent the break chugging Chimay and eating waffles*
3. JUUUUUUULLIIIIIAAANNNNNN!!! Everything I said or thought about you not deserving to be on the roster is proof that I'm a moron. I love you, keep it up.
4. WTF WONDO? Seriously? Does ANYONE really think that Landon Donovan wouldn't have buried that chance? OR TAPPED IT TO DEUCE?
5. YEDLIN! Big T put it best: "That guy is insanely fast". Seriously. He has wheels and can defend. I'm pretty sure Jogi Löw is regretting not locking down him or Fabian Johnson.
6. Speaking of Johnson... What's up with the hammies? Our guys had the legs for OT, but at least 3 starters had hammy strains (Jozy, Besler, Johnson). It could be a fluke, or maybe there's a training issue? There's a fine line between ripped and ready and just ripped.
7. Sooooooo... maybe a roster with no backup for Jozy was a bad idea. I don't think Klinsi is prone to second-guessing, but if he were honest, I think he'd admit that Boyd or EJ should've made the roster as cover. Wondo normally is a good poacher, but how do we not have a 2nd target forward?
8. Finally, well-done by Bradley and Jones. Bradley had 3 rough games (well, 2 rough games and one late rough touch), but he had some AMAZING passes tonight (the long cross to Yedlin, the Green goal) and only a few missteps (esp. the horrid touch to not score early from Deuce). Lots of hustle by both, and Jones managed to get only 1 yellow and held his temper in spite of some nasty Belgian tackles -- and had an exquisite head-flick to not-Landon for what should've been a goal. Ugh.

So, a fun, exciting World Cup for the USA, but clearly the story was missed chances -- the Portugal game, not starting Yedlin vs Germany (no way that they could've handled his speed), no Donovan, no cover for Jozy. On the other hand... we beat Ghana, tied Portugal** and almost took down a very highly-fancied Belgian side.  Not bad, but not perfect. Let's hope 2016 is better!
 
* Or frites. The footage wasn't clear
** Not as good as 2002, but still -- Ronaldo can suck it.