A few quick thoughts
Tough loss for the U.S. today. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead only to see Brazil answer with 3 goals, winning the game and taking home the Confederation Cup trophy. It was truly a tale of two halves, Team USA came out with a ton of energy, especially on defense, breaking up balls and tightly marking Brazil's stars with a lot of aggresion. Although Brazil took more shots, it was the U.S. that capitalized on the advantages - both goals scored on quick counter strikes with effecient passing. But ultimately Brazil's offensive onslaught was too much, even with Keeper Howard protecting the goal valiantly. Brazil's ability to control possesion and consistently threaten with precision crosses on the money just flat out wore the U.S. out by the end of the game. It's tough to keep up that intesity level for a full 90 minutes.
The U.S. has nothing to hang their heads over. The team moved mountains just to get into the Finals and had Brazil dazed on the ropes and nearly knocked out. Chalk it up as a great learning experience and another block that they can keep building with. So many players really came along during this tournament - Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Tim Howard, Onyewu, Oguchi, Jonathan Spectre just to name a few. Plus, the team will return stars Freddy Adu and Brian Ching, both who were out with injuries. A lot of credit has to go to Landon Donovan, he played his heart out all tournament and I think he really sets the tone, leading by example for the younger guys. Despite the loss, taking 2nd place in the Confederations Cup Tourney is an achievment that the U.S. should feel very proud of and it will be a huge momentum builder as the team heads towards the 2010 World Cup.
Last drop - I really like defender Jonathan Spectre. He's just a smart player, plays with poise and makes great passes. Marking up on Kaka for most of the match (arguably the best player in the world today), I thought he did a more than admirable job, all things considering. He also assisted on the team's first goal of the game to Clint Dempsey. And speaking of Dempsey, how about that mid-air volleying kick into the back of the net? Pretty impressive.
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