Well, that was embarrassing

Thank god, the US Men's National Team played; I have something to talk about other than D.C. United (and my inconsistent punctuation in this blog). I was really getting sick of having to write about a team being completely outclassed, toyed with, and ultimately embarrassed by their opposition. I was sick of writing about a team that can't find the back of the net with both hands and a map. I was sick of writing about a team that got fewer than five shots on frame. I was sick of writing about big defensive lapses and the inability to play the ball through the midfield. So, alright, Brazil - US; here's the recap:

Dammit. I think I covered most of the generalities in the above paragraph, so let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Donovan and Bradley played a level above the rest of their team, I think. They really lived up to their reputation as world class players. Good for them. Donovan disappeared for a little while and Bradley wasn't perfect, but they both looked like they belonged out there and inspired confidence when they had the ball.

Guzan looked good. He made some good saves and he was in a shooting gallery much of the match (I have more appreciation for that after my 5-a-side experience). Howard wasn't at fault for the goals. He played well, but didn't ever have the opportunity to come up huge like Guzan.

Bedoya and Gonzalez were far from perfect, but neither looked particularly outclassed or lost. Of the two, I think that Bedoya was shakier. He wasn't really impressive, but I liked his hunger.

Strikers continue to be a nightmare for the U.S. Altidore looked better than Buddle, Findley, and Gomez, but he looked stronger and more able to impose his physicality in the World Cup. He didn't come off as particularly dangerous on Tuesday night. Gomez and Findley both had flashes of good, in fact, I didn't mind Gomez out there at all (was he on the wing?). Buddle was totally outclassed and completely ineffective, but that may have been because he was cast as the lone striker. Donovan is great going forward, but he tracks back way too much to effectively pair with a single striker. That was a poor decision by Bob Bradley.

Kljestan needs to calm the hell down and not see the field until he does. Feilhaber, I don't want to see start again. Subbing one for the other makes me weep a little.

Boca was fine, but was hardly a rock in central defense. I just don't think Bornstein has it for this level. He had some good moments late in the game, most of them going forward, but his defending was below par and the Brazilians noticed very quickly. Spector, on the other hand, seems to have regressed somewhat. His defending wasn't atrocious, but he never got his rhythm going forward - a role in which he was stronger for Hammers in the Prem and for the U.S. in the Confederations' Cup.

So what to make of this? It was an embarrassment. Okay, no Dempsey or Gooch. Torres wasn't available either, though I don't know if I can say the US was "missing" a guy who usually can't crack the starting eleven (although, adding a possession-oriented central mid might have helped. Brazil maintained a lot of pressure on the midfielders and Torres maintaining possession could have helped. . . if he could maintain possession). Still no Davies, but we're all holding out hope. Moreover, 2 - 0 isn't the worst score ever, but it could have and probably should have been considerably worse. Considering the Brazilians brought a very young squad, this serves as a reminder that the U.S. is a much better team, but is still lacking anything remotely resembling depth and has significant weakness in the starting squad.

But did you think that we were going to beat Brazil?

P.S. After posting this, I realized the Edu was on the field as well. That I forgot entirely more-or-less sums up my opinion of his play.