US Soccer team wins Gold Cup, what's next?
Landon Donovan scored his 34th career goal, tying Eric Wynalda atop the career list, and Benny Feilhaber connected with an impressive kick to rally the United States to a 2-1 victory over Mexico on Sunday in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of North/Central America and the Caribbean.
It's the first time in 53 meetings dating to 1934 that the Americans fell behind Mexico, then came back to win.
The victory extended the Americans' dominance over their border rival to the south and gave the United States a berth in the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, a big date to prepare for the 2010 World Cup. The United States is 9-2-1 against Mexico since 2000, including 8-0-1 on U.S. soil.
This CONCACAF win is huge for the US team, but what's next for them? Now they will be heading to the COPA America Soccer Tournament which is the South American Championships. They are a guest for the tournament, and will be playing with some unknowns. While Argentina and just about every other team are bringing their top dogs, the US is sending 16 players who've made 10 or fewer appearances for the national team. Three have never even gotten in a game.
So is the future now? Why go if you're just going to get trampled? Plus, the US never really has success far from home. The Americans are going to be playing into one hostile environment after another. They'll be booed wherever they go, and the number of taunts will increase every time they touch the ball.
From my perspective, the future really is now. After the horrible showing in last summers World Cup, I think this is a good idea to get these young players some key international playing minutes and experience. The future really needs to be addressed with US soccer, because it's dying fast and while the competition around the world is getting tougher and more fierce, and when it comes to international competition, the U.S. is looking more and more impotent.
8 comments:
What's next for US soccer? I believe you and approximately seven other people in this great country of ours are wondering that at this moment. :-)
Soccer is a great sport, don't get me wrong. But I don't think the majority of Americans will ever bring themselves to care.
Also, any chance I could earn a spot on your blogroll?
of course
they were invited to the Copa, which is a S. American competition, so i don't really fear embarassment
i just wish the u-20s weren't going on, so we could see adu!
argnetina is taking their big time players. brazil is there... look who we're taking and yes I did say Copa was the S. American tournament, no need to remind me.
little defensive are we ming?
The problem with the US is that they can't beat anyone top notch outside of the USA. They always want to play at home, and when they are on the road, they flame out.
Thanks.
Post a Comment