The future of US Soccer is here (hopefully)

The U-20 Soccer World Cup is taking place as we speak in Canada. The US team has looked very impressive thus far, and after a Round 16 win today over Uruguay, they now advance to the quarterfinals vs. Austria on July 14.

After winning their group with wins over Poland and top dog Brazil, and a saddening tie vs. Poland, the US team is making a serious World Cup title run.

I wouldn't consider myself a huge soccer fan, but when it comes to USA Soccer and World Cups, I love watching soccer. After the big time national team won the Gold Cup and the U-20 team looking pretty impressive at the U-20 World Cup, I am very excited about the future of US Soccer.

With young stars in Freddy Adu, Josmer Altidore, and Michael Bradley, US Soccer has a bright future. Granted Adu has struggled in the Pros, I do really feel this is Adu's coming out party. From here on out, especially when it comes to national competition, he's going to be a big star. The funny thing about it is that Adu may not even be the best of the three I just mentioned. Josmer Altidore is a great player as well and has been very solid in the U-20 World Cup, especially scoring two goals in the upset of Brazil.

The U-20's next match up is this Saturday vs. Austria. I feel they'll pull off another win here and advance to the semi's vs. another heavy favorite, Spain (We'll just have to wait before I make a prediction on this game). When I see this U-20 team winning and Adu and Altidore dominating, it just gets me excited about the future of US soccer.

Now to talk about the 2010 World Cup, only three summers away. I am really stoked for the 10' World Cup to begin in South Africa, by that time Adu and Altidore should be huge stars on the team. I really feel Bob Bradley can get this team in the right direction and get these young players some valuable experience for the next 2-3 years.

Freddy Adu and Josmer Altidore truly are the future of US soccer, the US team just needs to take advantage of their great young talent. They should have one of the best US teams in recent memory and if they can't get it done again it may be decades before the USA can be a real contender.

But come the World Cup, Italy, France, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and Germany better watch out, because the US may just have the next best thing...

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.