An encouraging disappointment

It was crushingly disappointing when the U.S. soccer team blew a two-goal lead against Brazil in the second half of the Confederations Cup championship Sunday. But after the game my thought process quickly went from "I can't believe the U.S. blew a two-goal lead against Brazil in a FIFA championship" to "I can't believe the U.S. had a two-goal lead against Brazil in a FIFA championship."

It could have been the start of a new era if the Yanks had won, but in the big picture this was still a monumental step. The U.S. men had never before played in a FIFA championship and had never before gone up two goals against mighty Brazil (the two teams have played 15 times in history. The U.S. is 1-14-0 in those games, with a 1-0 win).

In a way, the rollercoaster of emotions in the championship game mirrored the entire tournament. The U.S. players were way, way down after losing to Italy and Brazil by a combined score of 6-1 to start pool play. They were way up after a 3-0 win against African champion Egypt propelled them, improbably, into the next round. Then they reached a new high with a 2-0 win against world No. 1 Spain, a team that hadn't lost in two years and 35 matches.

The Yanks had fire, they had confidence and they had tons of momentum, which may help explain how they went up on the overwhelmingly more talented Brazilians on goals by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan early in the championship. Give the Brazilians credit; they came out of halftime with new purpose and peppered the U.S. net. The first goal they got could be chalked up to passive defending by the U.S., but the last two were set up by impressive displays of individual skill.

The U.S. still doesn't have the horses to match teams like Spain and Brazil pass-for-pass and challenge-for-challenge for 90 minutes when both teams are going all out. Both opponents had at least a 60-40 edge in possession against the U.S. But the Yanks can still compete thanks to this most-encouraging Confederations Cup development: they have become finishers.

This is the most ethereal, but perhaps the most important quality in soccer — the ability to cash in on scoring chances when they present themselves. And now it seems like the U.S. has a handful of guys who have it. Dempsey is a finisher — his goal against Brazil was not a thing of beauty, but he was close to the net and he was able to get a touch on a tricky pass, which is what finishers do. Donovan is a finisher — his goal against Brazil was a thing of beauty, a symphony of touch and timing that, even though he was defended, was indefensible. Jozy Altidore is a finisher — after he used his considerable strength to score with a Spanish defender hanging on his back he had seven goals in just 16 games with the nationals.

Having finishers changes the game. Even if the U.S. players still can't outplay elite teams for 90 minutes, they don't have to. They will be able to outplay them for 10-15 minute spurts, and if they can cash in on those spurts they have a chance to win because of their goalkeeping. The one position that the U.S. has a history of producing world class players at is keeper and the current crew, fronted by Tim Howard, is no exception.

The finishing is one encouraging thing about the Confed Cup. The other is the players' reaction after the loss to Brazil. They had done amazing things, they had gone farther than anyone expected them to, they had beat the current best team in the world and almost beat the historical best team in the world. But they weren't satisfied. The empty look on Oguchi Onyewu's face as he sat on the pitch watching the Brazilians celebrating was telling. So were the tears that Dempsey couldn't hold back even as he accepted an individual award for his scoring prowess in the tourney.

In the long run the loss may be the best thing fror U.S. soccer. The big prize, after all, isn't until next summer when South Africa (the Confed site) hosts the World Cup. The U.S. players now should go into it both confident they can play with the best and hungry to beat the best. Stay tuned.