I had originally planned a detailed write up along the same lines as the US-Italy game, but after watching the first half I felt the need to purge what I had seen from my system.
Every possible good point from the Italy game that the US team could use to build off of was completely undone in the first half of the Brazil game. It's not the result, or even the fact that Brazil jumped out to the lead in the 7th minute (though that qualifies as a very concerning recent pattern), but the lack of energy and focus the US showed.
The first goal Brazil scored happened because right fullback Jonathan Spector simply let his man get inside position on a free kick. The second goal came off of a corner kick...a US corner kick that DaMarcus Beasley missed, and Brazil took the length of the field for a counterattack goal. The US also showed none of the sustained possession attacks they had working in the first half hour of the Italy game.
The only positive that came from this game is that DaMarcus Beasley showed more than enough for Bob Bradley to never call his name again. Beasley was a young star in 2002 and a steady vet in 2006, but he hasn't shown much of anything since then. Whether it's injury, too many miles on his odometer, or a crisis of confidence, the US team can no longer wait for Beasley to get back to his old form. He is finished as an effective part on this US team.
By all rights, the US should be eliminated from advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. But, with Italy's shocking loss to Egypt, all it will take is Italy losing to Brazil and the US beating Egypt by about 6 goals. And the US could pull it off...if they had 5 games to do it. With just 1 game, advancing is out of the question, but it would be nice to see them put 2 halves together with energy, focus, and without stupid tackles that result in questionable red cards.
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