Hard luck USA.

 
Wow, that was possibly the best game of football I've watched in a long while.
 
The US players did their country proud, and deserved a draw at least after extra time.
 
Passion, team spirit, hard work, desire, and commitment in spades (poignantly all the attributes missing from England's recent performances).
 
And credit to Jürgen Klinsmann too, he can be proud of what he's accomplished here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It seemed like whenever they FINALLY got possession of the ball they almost immediately missed a pass and gave it right back to Belgium though...
 
Howard stops a record 16 saves (the second most in recorded World Cup history is only 9!).  While that's fantastic, it also means that our defense needs work (most possession would help).
 
Why couldn't they play the end of regular time like they did at the end of extra time???
 
Oh well... 

And then the 19 year old Green comes on with his first touch scores.  He looks like a pure striker that should serve us well in the future.
 
All we lacked was that polished striker touch....that is really where the football powers shine.  (Messi, Ronaldo, etc.)
 
JR
 

SteveStrummerUK
 ... 
The US players did their country proud, and deserved a draw at least after extra time.
 ...
Passion, team spirit, hard work, desire, and commitment in spades (poignantly all the attributes missing from England's recent performances).
 ...
 

I honestly think that the only thing they were missing in the last 20 minutes and the Extra Time, was one more pass here and there. And this is where Landon Donovan would have been massive.
 
A lot of folks think that Michael Bradley did not do enough but all you have to see is that little loop pass that Julian Green turned into a great goal, to know that Michael just was not in the front as much as he was needed since Beckerman was not behind him!
 
In the end, I won't fault JK for not selecting Landon, but to throw away the guy that leads the American National team with goals and assists (more assists than goals, too!!!!) is simply stupid and insane.  On the other hand, Brooks, Green and Yedlin did see some action and that is good for them, and hopefully they can develop even more and take it up further, though I think that at this point it is simply too few of them and far in between for America, that is not grabbing the players in their teens, enough to help them develop and the College soccer situation in America is ridiculous and only lasts 4 months and the kids are then hung out to dry and waste their abilities, as opposed to the other countries where the kids are pretty much playing all year around.
 
When US Soccer resolves that issue, and stops allowing the NCAA (College's governing idiots here in America), to dictate the terms, the American soccer landscape will not have enough of a chance to improve, and will have to rely on as many dual nationals as they can grab for the abilities.
 
MLS, going to 24 teams in 2 years should help bring more players and develop a few more kids, though I don't see JK bringing them in enough for them to learn how to play better and faster.

I haven't understood a word of any of this Fred...