US Team Bounced, Trounced by Czechs

What's that hissing sound? Why that's the sound air rushing out of the inflated expectations of US soccer fans after a 3-0 drubbing that was not even as close as the score would appear. Let's start with the undisputable facts. The US team was widely over-hyped by a know-nothing US media and the USSF. Hype met the reality of international soccer yesterday in Gelsenkirchen.

The Czechs looked like a cat playing with a mouse, batting the US team around the pitch for 90 minutes. They were fast to the ball, knew where to go with it once they attained posession and numerous ideas in the final third of the pitch. In comparison, the US looked like a five-year-old lost in Macy's toy department, wondering where their mama was. Did you see the faces of the players while singing the national anthem? They looked scared. Not how you want your team feeling, going into a game against a top ranked side.

Making things worse, Coach Bruce Arena's post-game interview turned toxic.

For the record, the US has a very good goalkeeper in Kasey Keller. Their midfield is their strength. Neither the US defense nor its frontline strikes me as capable or competent on the international stage. They look like a good MSL team. They have no game-changing player. Like it or not, the best team from America is Mexico.

Australia's match yesterday, pitting another underdog (Well, they're the Socceroos, so maybe that makes them Underoos?) against an Asian side, that while not the Czech Republic, was considered likely to prevail. After all, the Aussies had yet to score a World Cup goal, being blanked in their first appearance way back in 1974, when I was in 4th grade.

It looked like that would be the case as the Japanese side took a 1-0 lead on an audaciously missed call where keeper Mark Schwarzer was pushed off the ball by a Japanese attacker. The Underoos could not generate much of a threat until the 2nd half when Tim Cahill was subbed on. The bloke hit the equalizer in the 85th minute and the game winner at the 90th. Great stuff and then Aloisi salted the match away with a third goal in stoppage time.

Best news of all from yesterday, Peter Crouch has promised not to commit the robo-dance again during the cup, unless of course, they win (Which means he won't do it again. period.).

And this morning, WC newcomers Togo went up 1-0 on South Korea in the 1st half on an absolute corker of a goal from a fellow whose name I don't recall (that would be any of the 10 Togoans who are not Arsenal's Emanuel Adebayor).

There's some great stuff happening at the WC. Brazil is playing today. I've got my Brazil T-shirt on and am ready for the game. I'll post some comments later on the idiotic TV broadcasting for the World Cup.