A Night of Celebration and Sadness

Watching the U.S. Soccer team this past year and a half has included as much drama as you see on any daytime soap opera, minus the sex scandals (well, at least none that we've heard of).

Game-tying goals, come from behind wins, a loss here and there, and you've got to think that if U.S. Coach Bob Bradley had any hair at all, it would certainly be gray by now.

Last night's game against Costa Rica was about as an emotional contest as the U.S. has ever played. First and foremost, they were obviously playing for teammate Charlie Davies, injured seriously in a car accident Monday night. Sometimes those emotional lifts work out, and other times it's too much of a distraction. Once the motivation wears off after the first several minutes, the team loses it's focus. It seemed to happen last night as Bryan Ruiz scored twice in 3 minutes for Costa Rica after several wasted U.S. chances in the early stages of the match.

That brought up the next stretch of adversity; coming back from a 2-goal deficit. Yes, the team had already qualified for South Africa, but the fact that they didn't panic, pack up, and go home in front of 26,000 raucous fans at RFK shows the grit of this team. This game marked the 5th time in the 10-game hexagonal that the U.S. came from behind to tie or win the game. What's the big deal about that? Well, it means that even if they play poorly, which unfortunately has too often been the case in the past 2 years, there's still a grit and determination that this team will find a way to scratch and claw their way back into it. That'll help them immensely next summer when they no doubt find themselves down a goal at some point in the tournament. Depending on the draw on December 4th, that time might come in the 1st game.

Lastly, they overcame the loss of starting defender Oguchi Onyewu to get that tying goal. Gooch's knee injury made everyone's heart stop, especially when the rival Ticos even waved for the medical staff to come onto the pitch. Although he hasn't played particularly well recently, and can't crack the starting lineup at AC Milan, Gooch is arguably our most valuable defender. His touch is off, but his physical presence and aggressive play does put a certain amount of apprehension in opposing players when they encounter him. He'll be out 3-4 months, which still gives him plenty of time to rehab and be ready for the opening round of the tournament, which starts June 11th.

Don't get me wrong; there are still a lot of questions about this U.S. going into next summer. Can the team STOP getting behind in games? Will Jozy Altidore take the next step and become a dominant forward that opposing teams have to gameplan against? Can Donovan continue his world-class form (and yes, he is playing at a world class level, folks)? Is Bob Bradley the guy who can mold this team into a unit that can get out of the 1st round? If the answer to at least 3 of those questions is "yes," then I'll be able to sleep soundly next June.

FYI...I'm not going to mention anything about the Charlie Davies accident, other than to say our thoughts and prayers are with him and that he is able to recover and have a full and healthy life, even if that life no longer involves professional soccer.

Other Thoughts:

1. Costa Rica didn't necessarily play themselves out of a spot in the Cup. They are traditionally a force at home, and if they can get a 2 goal advantage in the 1st leg at Saprissa, that trip down to Montevideo might not be such a daunting task.

2. I think this was definitely a stronger CONCACAF group than any we've seen in a long time. The top 4 teams all have legitimate stars and the potential to create havoc in South Africa. I also think that in almost any other cycle, El Salvador would have gone through. They lost or tied several games where they could have/should have gotten a better result, and with the exception of Saturday's game in Mexico, were highly competitive.

3. Think FIFA breathed a sigh of relief when Argentina got the spot-clinching win at Uruguay last night? They would have lost a HUGE amount of marketing and advertising power if Lionel Messi wasn't going to the tournament, and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal squad still has a playoff series to determine their fate..

4. Sweden, Croatia, Ecuador, and the Czech Republic can go ahead and make vacation plans next summer. Some very good players from these teams won't be getting their close-ups next year.

5. Can we put the final day of World Cup Qualifying up there as one of the more dramatic days in sports? How many country's dreams were realized or shattered in just the span of a few hours? No other sport on the planet effects as many people at one time.

See you next week!