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Before I start this article, I want to make sure that everyone knows that I'm proud to be an American. I still love this team with all my heart, and despite the disappointing exit yesterday, Donovan's stoppage time goal against Algeria is still undoubtedly one of the top 10 sports moments I have ever had the pleasure of watching live. But yesterdays game told me two things about the US team: 1. We aren't that great of a team, and 2. We are a long way away from being a serious contender in the World Cup.

The lead up to the tournament was all about how well this group set up for the US. England was not playing nearly as well as they usually do, and Slovenia and Algeria were seen as after thoughts and the teams they beat to get here, Russia and Egypt, were talked about more then they would. In the next round, they took on Ghana, who was perceived as one of the weaker 2nd round opponents, and with all due respect to Uruguay, who is playing fantastic soccer right now, they are about as great of a quarterfinals draw as the USA can ever expect in the World Cup. The USA played 4 games, with one 30 minute overtime period. Adding in stoppage time, the USA play around 410 minutes, give or take. Of that time, the USA had the lead in their games for....2 minutes. That's right, they were trailing or tied for 408 minutes. That just won't cut it.

So what is the problem for the USA. Well its a number of things. For me, the top problem is the forward position, and there are several problems here. The US have not gotten a World Cup goal from the forward position since the 2002 World Cup. Jozy Altidore was thought to be the break out star, but his top highlight of the tournament was his header assist to Mike Bradley for the tying goal against Slovenia. Altidore sadly showed his age in simple mistakes like overpowering his wide open goal against Algeria, and some poor touches in the 2nd half against Ghana. I would have liked to have seen Coach Bradley take Altidore out sooner yesterday, going with Gomez in the 70th minute or so. But I'm not worried about Altidore. He's 20, and with 4 more years of international experience, he should be a stud in 2014. The other forward spot has the biggest question mark, and I gotta blame Coach Bradley for this. Robbie Findley didn't do anything against England and Slovenia, and was suspended for Algeria. Inexplicably, Bradley put Findley back into the starting line up, and once again, didn't do anything except for botch a golden opportunity late in the 1st half, kicking it right at the keeper in a 1 on 1 situation. For a guy who is paid to score goals, he HAS to do better then that. Benny Feilhaber was a great sub, and Hercules Gomez and Edson Buddle both play well in their limited minutes. But Bradley kept going with Findley, and we paid for it.

I think more then anything, the USA showed their inexperience and lack of composure that you have to have in the World Cup. Ghana made us pay yesterday for a careless error by Ricardo Clark. Ghana played it through, caught Tim Howard cheating a bit, and put it away easily in the corner. Later in the half, on virtually the exact same play, Findley had an open shot on goal, took one quick dribble and rushed a horrible effort that ran right into the keeper. This was seen virtually the whole game. Another incident occurred in the 2nd half where Michael Bradley was clear onto the goal in the box, and yet didn't even take one dribble before rocketing it right into the hands of the keeper. Its like the whole team expected Ghana to be much quicker then they were, and they rushed through everything. This is something that can only be worked on through tough international play. Guys like Dempsey and Donovan showed their composure, and all we can do is hope that some of the USA's young guns get similar experience, and will be able to play better in 2014.

All the credit in the world needs to go to Ghana. Sure I'm as pissed as anyone that they were flopping and wasting time in the overtime period, but the fact of the matter is that 90% of teams are doing the exact same thing in that position. Its a sad and unsportsmanlike part of the game, but again, its part of the game. But before that, they did what no one could before. They made us pay for our mistakes. I'm not certain that Ghana outplayed the US throughout the game, but what I can certainly say is that when it mattered, Ghana always had an answer for the US. Their defense was phenomenal, always getting ball first on nearly every slide tackle deep into their third of the field. And while it might have been a lucky bounce to the Ghana player on the game winner, make no mistake, the finish was world class. To be able to control it on the bounce, and strike it perfectly over Howard, is video that the forwards for USA could certainly learn from.

While the USA got some solid results thanks to some late game heroics, the truth of the game was always overshadowed by the fact that we didn't lose. Against England, their goalkeeper's mistake overshadowed what was a dominate effort by England. Against Slovenia, an incredible 2nd half surge overshadowed what was one of the worst halves of soccer I have ever seen by the US, or anyone for that matter. Against Algeria, the thrilling stoppage time goal overshadowed what was a bad game by the US with missed chance after missed chance. Against Ghana, there was no hiding the fact that plain and simply, we weren't the better team on the field.

I still love the US team, and I hope alot of the veterans come back for 2014, because I honestly feel that we could have a very special combination of savvy veterans and up and coming forwards and midfielders who will hopefully get the international experience they need. I know that personally, I'll be paying much more attention to these players who America, and me, fell in love with over the past few weeks. Congrats on some great moments USA, and get at them again in 2014. Thanks for the memories guys. And thank you for reading.