Quick Reaction: USA throws away the Gold Cup

I'm about to head out to run around the pitch with some friends, but I can't let the USA's devastating 4-2 defeat to Mexico go just yet. Here are some quick reflections:

• I've always liked Bob Bradley, mainly because of his steely gaze and his awesome son. But last night was a fireable defeat for me. The Gold Cup is a massive game, and a huge opportunity for the USA. They can't lose on their home turf, even if the stadium is predominantly pro-Mexico. And they especially can't lose when they go up 2 goals early. We should have bunkered in to weather the Mexican speed. He made a great call with Adu, but I think Kljestan should have come on sooner once Mexico had taken the lead - for Jones, not Adu. Bottom line: Bradley's contract seems to have locked him in for the 2014 run, but I feel like there is a better coach out there for the USA.

• Speaking of Freddy, he might have just resuscitated his career. There is reason to hope he can be a key piece for the USA in 2014. He had the most skill on the ball of any American. My buddy Maarten the Belgium thought he held it too much, but we need a guy or two like that. He can (and did once or twice) draw a lot of fouls in dangerous locations with that footwork. His free kick from the foul he won outside of the box was nicely spotted though it lacked the pace. And back in the Panama game, his pass to Donovan that set up the winner made my head literally explode. I freakin' love a glorious chip.

• In retrospect, the Cherundolo injury was devastating. But it also shows how desperately thin the U.S. is at the back. Bornstein is an experienced player, but he's clearly not of the caliber needed to get the U.S. to the top level. I used to feel like our sorest need was at striker, but it is clearly the defense. This crew is good enough to shut down middling international teams but the speedy, skillful Mexicans made mincemeat of them, as most of the elite teams will. Our passing and even our finishing has grown to be pretty solid, but we need more speed on defense.

• You can keep Chicharito - Dos Santos was the most exciting player on the pitch. He's also the only Mexican player I don't despise, and that I kinda root for when Mexico is playing other good teams.

• I always hate blaming the goalie, but by beloved, Evertonian, tourettes-ridden Tim Howard had a bad game. The ugliest goal for him - the fourth when Dos Santos squirmed away and chipped that unbelievable ball into the upper-90, wasn't even his biggest mistake. He was flat-footed on the second Mexican goal, getting beat on the near post without even diving for it. It's mostly the defenses fault, but a great game from Howard might have led to a different storyline.
  

Mining for Gold

America cruised into the second round of the Gold Cup (basically the North American championship) last night with a 4-0 victory over El Salvador. There's a number of encouraging signs to note from the first three games of Bob Bradley's tenure that count.

• The U.S. has won their games 1-0, 2-0, and 4-0. If you extrapolate that out, we should win the championship with a score of 32-0. Fun times!
• Beasley got two goals last night. A dangerous Beasley is ingredient 1b to a healthy U.S. attack. He was terrible in the last World Cup, and brilliant in '98. He also had 4 goals when the U.S. won the Gold Cup in '95. (Ingredient 1a is Donovan getting lots of touches in the middle of the field facing the goal.)
• 6 different Americans have scored for the U.S. In the end, it would be nice to have a guy who is The Goal Scorer. But at least now there are more possible players to emerge in that role. And lots of goal scorers is a much better problem than no goals.
• The competition hasn't been too tough, but zero points in three games is excellent. Maybe the rest of the world isn't familiar with the phrase "defense wins championships" and America can make that our secret strategy.

The biggest negative to the American efforts is that Eddie Johnson, a guy who was briefly The Goal Scorer back in World Cup qualifying a couple years ago, has a strained knee. That's brutal, especially since he had been playing the best soccer of his life in MLS.

Click here for the current situation and brackets in the Cup.