World Cup Roundup Day 16: The US run ends

The American squad that never stopped playing at full intensity could not make it through a physical Ghanan side. I will be the first one to mention there were some tactical mistakes in the starting eleven. For one Ricardo Clark replacing Maurice Edu is the most glaring. Clark was not very effective in the game against England, not marking Steven Gerrard who promptly scored, and giving up the first goal today. This mistake cost the US a key subsistute in a must win game. The other interesting decision was not starting Oguchi Onyewu. Four years ago I thought he was a horrible player, but this year I think his height and defensive skills really help out the American squad. Many bloggers will blame the coach and ask for his ouster. I will gather these as I see them and provide my two cents, but I think we need to evaluate the way we played in the tournament before making coaching decisions. This squad did not have Charlie Davies who was starting in last years confederations cup run. The striker pair of Jozy Altidore and Charlie Davies could be potent with their speed, height, and ability to hold the ball. This does require that Jozy Altidore continue to grow as a player which is likely since he is only 20 years old. The American squad showed the world the American work ethic as applied to soccer and got good results. They achieved a primary goal of getting to the knockout stage and played hard in a tough fought loss to Ghana. I think they played admirably and should be lauded for their efforts. I onaly see an upside for American soccer and soccer fans. Maybe in four years we will be holding the trophy the world covets most at the end of the 2014 tournament.