Missed Opportunities

The U.S. squad missed opportunities to score throughout the game.

The U.S. squad missed the opportunity to get to the second round, despite it's lackluster play during its group matches.

The U.S. squad missed the opportunity for the world to take it seriously in the game of soccer.

The U.S. squad missed the opportunity to capture the attention of the nation, and help grow the sport's popularity by leaps and bounds; even if only in the short-term.

There weren't many positives today. I thought Reyna's giveaway was abysmal; there are no excuses for that. He was able to come back on the pitch for another 15 minutes, so his injury wasn't too severe to either clear the ball or take down the man. That was a "manhood" issue, not an injury issue, in my opinion.

I'll never blame the referees. As a competitor, you must play through the things you cannot change. You cannot change a poor call. The PK awarded to Ghana was an absolute farce. It was the worst call of the tournament. In the end, it really didn't matter. The U.S. didn't overcome, so they're going home.

I'm numb. I'll give the squad credit for playing with heart and passion in the final two games, but overall, it was a disappointing Cup. Frankly, Reyna wasn't missed after being removed from a World Cup match for the first time in his career. Aside from striking the post against the Czechs, he wasn't much of a factor. Neither was Donovan. Neither was McBride, although he's only truly effective when he gets quality service, which happened one time all tourney. Neither was Beasley; although he finally played a good match today. I could go on and list every player that made it onto the pitch, I suppose, if I thought about it long enough. The U.S. is simply not good enough to win unless all eleven play hard, and play well. Other soccer "super-powers" can get away with that; the U.S. can't.

I'll continue to watch the world's greatest sporting event, because there are several players whose abilities I admire. I guess I'm an honorary citizen of Portugal, England, and France for the remainder of the cup, because I would love to see Beckham, or C. Ronaldo, or Henry, or Zidane, or Figo, or even Rooney ascend to glory. When the players aren't flopping, and the referees aren't screwing everything up, this is the best game in the world to watch.