USMNT Not Ready For Primetime
It's a good thing for the United States that the World Cup won't come around for another three years.
Sure, the United States played with a slightly depleted lineup.
Sure, they played against the defending Cup champions.
But when your biggest accomplishment in a match is having "accrued no more major damage" in one stretch of the second half, it has not been a good match.
A 4-nil victory for Spain could have easily been worse with one seemingly good goal for Spain being disallowed and a few balls that beat Tim Howard but not the post.
On Spain's first (counted) goal, the US squad basically just watched as David Silva tore up the defense and found a completely unmarked Santi Cazorla in the box for an easy goal.
With the US defense seemingly sleeping on the field, Alvaro Negredo doubled the margin as he took off on a pass from midfield and beat Tim Howard 1-on-1.
The third goal in 13 minutes came with seven US players in the box against just three attacking Spaniards. That was just the first half.
The 2-nil victory over Spain in the semifinals of the 2009 Confederations Cup was a distant memory for the US who slower than molasses.
So what's wrong with the US Men's National Team? The full answer would require a book, so let's focus on just a few of the negatives.
1. Lateral Movement - It's all well and good that players can maintain their positions on the field, but there is an understated need for lateral movement.
It was especially noticeable on the first goal as David Silva streaked into the left side of the box. As he streaked in, the US moved straight up the field instead of staying on Spaniards, allowing them to find the hole in the defense for an easy goal that two different Spanish players could have scored on.
2. Passing - One of the weakest aspects of the US side was the passing. One of the most basic fundamentals of the game seemed to evade the squad as countless runs were ended on careless or just simply bad passes that prevented the US from getting many good chances.
The US could watch tape from this game to learn a thing or two about how to pass. Spain tore through the US defense with the ease of a knife through butter. Bob Bradley should use this friendly match as a teaching moment for the team. At least about what not to do.
3. Uniforms - This obviously has nothing to do with the play, but who wears red uniforms against a team whose main color is red?
A layperson turning on the match would undoubtedly be mildly confused as to which team was which.
4. Tentativeness - How many times did the US pass it within their own end or back to Tim Howard? Too many times to count.
The US didn't look comfortable at all. It seemed as if they were trying to feel out Spain, even when they were down by three goals. If they hope to beat a powerful Eurorean squad like Spain, they'll have to use better defense to attack better.
5. Guts - It's an intangible that is virtually impossible to measure. However, anyone watching the match could see that the US was not all in the game.
Maybe it's the advent of the Gold Cup, where the US will play it's first game in three days. Maybe it's the fact that a few key players were out of the lineup. Either way, the fight just wasn't there for the US side today.
None of these encompass the lack of goal scoring that not only plagued the US in this match, but in many of their recent matches as well. 5 goals in 7 matches is not the sign of a potent offense.
Is it the end of the world for the US Men's National Team? No. Far from it. Every squad has an off day. Since the World Cup, Spain has played matches against Argentina and Portugal, losing both matches by a combined score of 8-1.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup will be an interesting test for the Americans as they are undoubtedly one of the favorites to win it all. With all due respect to the participating teams, the quality of competition is much lower than that of Spain.
One thing is certain: The US has a lot to work on. If they can use this match as a teachable moment, they can begin to grow as a team and make strides before the next World Cup in 2014.
If they don't, Americans will turn on soccer quicker than they turned on the British during the 18th century.
