CONCACAF is just rubbish. It should be two spots max, for Mexico and USA. When you think of the European teams who miss out due to the spots in CONCACAF. At the last World Cup we had no Sweden, no Belgium, no Croatia, no Czech Republic, no Ireland, no Scotland.

Adu's pass was just as good as Donovans, two great balls.

How passe. Here is a person who is ignorant of how much soccer is growing in the USA, relative to other sports.

How much is soccer increasing in popularity in Europe? By leaps and bounds? It's about rate of change. In a few decades we will see, and surely hear a lot more America hating from people who...well, already hate, but lose to our team much more. Ask Mexico. Evem tho they're better than us this year....for once!
:-)

Can we remember that in '06 USA was the only team that Italy faced in the world cup that they didn't beat? And can we also remember that the USA squad of the '10 world cup finished at the top of there group over England no less? And can we also remember that Messi the supposed "worlds best player" has yet to score on Tim Howard and his defense after 3 or 4 meetings?

Can we remember that in '06 USA was the only team that Italy faced in the world cup that they didn't beat? And can we also remember that the USA squad of the '10 world cup finished at the top of there group over England no less? And can we also remember that Messi the supposed "worlds best player" has yet to score on Tim Howard and his defense after 3 or 4 meetings?

Well they might be getting better but so is the rest of the world dont you think?

Agree completely. Howard is still our best player, by far, but Dempsey has the class, the skill, and the work ethic to be even greater. Love your comment Kevin

but who are they really competing against? panama? guadalupe? Only Mexico can be proposed as a proper giant other than the US in the Gold cup. It should be a guarantee for the U.S. to be in the final 8. The U.S. had some good play in the past, but it lacks in overall play. Change needs to happen probably starting with a new coach.

I couldn't agree more with your comment about the coaching......one thing that you don't understand is that the United States ODP system is so political that it's sickening....it's fantastic to see that we actually have some classy and talented players coming through the ranks. I grew up playing with Bradley in ODP, great player, there's no way I could take anything away from him, but overall, the system needs a revamp. I don't know anything about any other olympic development programs, if you guys have any info...comments.experience.....it'd be cool to hear what it's like in other countries

These two commentators refer to Donovan as Captain America (El Capitan America). lol

What people don't know... The US have won more Gold Cups than anyone in CONCACAF with the exception of Mexico having win the most... But yet... People never seem to stop hating on the US... It's like a virus... They just have to do it because it's the US...

Facts...

Football is here to stay whether people like it or not...

Football is getting better every single year in the North America... The MLS is a prime example of this...

Football is Mexico's main sport... People don't take it in consideration that the beautiful game is behind, Grid Iron Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey and NASCAR here in the US...

But sooner or later... Football is gonna be big here... Again... Every year football has been growing dramatically here in the States...

Football is growing in the US. It is getting much more popular and the quality is getting much better. Just look at the goals the MLS has produced this year like Hassli's goal against the sounders or ruiz's goal against chicago. Also, just look at the attendance. Two years people in my school didn't really even know what the MLS was. However, I am now a dedicated Philadelphia Union fan, and the attendance at PPL park is incredible. Football is starting to take hold in the USA, and it draws many passionate fans. And the US national team is not bad by any stretch. They might lose, might win, but they will not get 'torn apart'.

I still don't get why everyone thinks that that the United States is full of people who are oblivious to their own system......

Michael Bradley (Mikey) is a good footballer... The only thing I like about Bob Bradley now is he created this kid...

But he already has delivered against a team like Mexico before and an even stronger squad like Spain and other European teams... He doesn't have much to prove now if any... The kid can play... I don't know how he's doing for Aston Villa though...

he scored clutch goals in WCQ and you are right was pretty average at the world cup. he has transformed into a pass and flow center mid and i f*****g love it. he is now one of our best players, and will be a legend in our country if he continues to create plays, win balls, and dictate team possession from the center for another decade or so.

I grew up playing against Bradley.........I used to think that he was a political bullshit ploy.......but he's not. Everything inside of me would love to say that he is a bad footballer..but he's not. Take it from someone who grew up competing against him 4 times a year from the ages of 11 until 16.....he's no bullshit.

The world level is entirely different (granted) but Bradley has an ability to see the field that I think will truly prevail. I've never played against someone that has so much field vision before.....and I know the responses to this are going to be like, "oh what, you don't even know, you've never gone up through the ranks".......but I have, and I've seen his field vision, and the last thing in the world I wanted to do (As a Wisconsinite and a U.S. National Team Pool Team member) is admit that a Chicagoan is better........but dude kicks ass, give him his props when they're due.

Big American fan and I hate to agree. Commentators have said that they're playing without much heart in the Gold Cup.

We're not good enough to play the northern European play, and we have the ability to be more creative with the african and latin influence.

To me it seems that coach Bradley must think, for example, that it's more important to stay in position than to one-touch into open space.
Right away when Adu and Donovan started switching plays up, things got more interesting.

You can't compare us to European powerhouses, we clearly lack the class and depth of Spain, Holland, Italy, Germany, etc. That being said, we can definitely compete with them and upset them on any given day, but 9 times out of 10 we're playing for a draw. One of our biggest problems is our approach to matches; we struggle to show up and play hard against these little concacaf teams in the less-than-illustrious Gold Cup, but when we play Mexico, or a big European side, it's game on. You'll see a different squad on Saturday if you watch the final against Mexico.

I also think we're a different side with Holden and Davies included, but that's a separate conversation.

I don't see how we can expect to see anything different from the US until they change their recruiting styles and until they change the Princeton (LMAO) coach. Trying to play college ball against powerhouses? Not gonna happen. Every game looks like a pro-amatuer contest, but the US is really going over the basics again and I expect them to start taking futbol seriously sometime soon.

Who didn't see a USA vs Mexico final coming tho?

I was at the game, and I also agree. However I don't think it's the players, I think it's Bradley. Go look at footage of Dempsey with Fulham. I've never seen the kind of passion he's showing during this tournament when he plays in Europe.

Bradley has built a safe team, they are good enough to win games that aren't too rigorous, but they are going to get dogged by Mexico unless something changes. Technically, they look good, but against much lesser teams and even there they had some real lapses last night, i.e. it's easy to be technical when the pressure is not high. It is time to rethink what we are doing and IMO there is an answer. Please, please, please give us Klinsmann.

I agree with everybody here... The truth is folks that it is Bob Bradley... You see guys... The workers are the footballers on the pitch... Bob Bradley is the boss and what he says goes even though you don't agree with it... Sad but true... Just like in any other jobs... This is why we only do enough to win... Which is fine but not under US supporter standards...

If you look at any of the players playing for their clubs... They play great football... One that doesn't look like this at all... Dempsey in Fulham is a great example... He is beast when he's playing for Fulham... Donovan is the same way with both the Galaxy and his time in Bayern Munich and Everton... There are some US players that are under their recovery stages but still, they play a much better football when they are with their clubs... Because of the coaching...

You guys are all correct... We need change... I agree, please, please oh please give us Klinsmann... But unfortunately I heard Bob Bradley has 2 more years... They won't fire Bob Bradley because if they fire him, everybody else will also be let go... Klinsmann will make such drastic changes and that's what the people of the US National Team under Bob Bradley is afraid of... But not the players...

It is so sad that our U-17 National Squad plays a much better football than our current National Squad... But I'm happy to see that the future looks bright... Very bright...

chaconche is hilariously cynical about the us team. we unfortunately suffer horrible ups and downs due to a variety of factors.