Photo by ISIphotos.com
It's been a month since the World Cup ended for the U.S. men's national team, enough time to let the team's performance and all the ups and downs sink in.
It's also enough time to take another look back at the unforgettable moments of what will be remembered as an exciting World Cup for American fans.
USA fan and soccer video producer Jay Bell put together a great piece detailing the U.S. national team's unforgettable experience at the 2010 World Cup.
Enjoy:
The US's run in the World Cup
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What did you think of the video? Do you look back at the World Cup with fond memories, or with disappointment? Counting the days until 2014 in Brazil?
Share your thoughts below.
+1 re playing Buddle more is one of the top woulda coulda shouldas….
-minus infinite made up points. “At the time, I chose to support the team.” What?
I agree with you Ben. Anybody remember the SBI survey on how far the U.S. would go? The overwhelming majority guessed at least quarter finals if not the semis. We had a dream draw to go farther than we did. Everybody thought we would go farther, and yet we didn’t. Why? What was so good about our play that made us so dangerous? Going down early in the game? The unnecessary miracle comebacks? I’m sorry, any day I would rather see the U.S. crush its opponents rather than a comeback to barely scrape through. I don’t care how exciting it is. I guess I just have high expectations and at times the U.S. is frustrating to watch.
+100
both of you have no idea what you are talking about. yes the first goal could have been handled differently but NO KEEPER ON EARTH would have stopped Gyan’s play.
You both clearly have no idea what the position is about.
He retired to concentrate on club play. Move on.
I had a similar joyful experience celebrating and reveling with my seven year old over Donovan’s finish. Great bonding experience. Overall, an uneven, but enjoyable World Cup. Yes , what if Gooch was 100%, Davies, calls going for us,etc would have been nice,
but the steps we tool as a nation to forge a soccer identity and respect from the football
world made this cup a positive experience. Plus, when was the last time we had so many possible future prospects? We could have that type of conversation post Germany 2006.
He was great in the England game, average in the other group games, and quite poor in the Ghana game – 2 shots, 2 goals. You wonder if the injury factored in at all. And if so, should he have said something or the coaches noticed…
LD is a GOD!
M. Bradley has a great future!
Go Go USA!!
still cry when i watch videos over the USA in the WC.
OMG IVES IS SLEEPIN IN TONITE. NO POSTS FOR TWO DAYS
Average tournament for the US. Time to thank Robobob and move on if we want to progress our team.
I’m happy to read that for the most part, everybody’s feelings are the same as mine: incredibly proud of this team, an exhilerating and inspiring performance from our guys with their never-say-die attitude and their attacking style. This World Cup was an absolute success, despite the disappointment of not beating Ghana.
And as a long-time fan of Landon Donovan, I couldn’t be happier that he absolutely solidified himself as a Legend in US Soccer. Well done!
+100
I’m not mad at you, howard was terrible. While i think he has top 10 goalie talent, he does not have top 10 goalie discipline. He needs Guzan to challenge him during this next cycle to stay focused
Yeah, but we played against better defenses in the group stage than Uruguay has. With Forlan’s deep striking ability, it could have been a long game if he exploited the space between the MF and the defense.
Great video, great month long tourney in general. I, for one, am suffering SERIOUS WC withdrawal – what a treat – practically non-stop top quality football for thirty days!!
wonderful video…I cried again, too. thank you.
My mind is actually boggled by the people who so angry that we didn’t make semi’s. Guys, Argentina and Brazil didn’t even make semi’s.
You can’t play the what ifs…what if Gooch had been healthy, what if Bob had started other players, etc. etc. etc. It is what it is and when all is said and done the U.S. has a LOT more to be proud of than they do to be disappointed in.
As a die hard fan, of course I was totally heartbroken that we lost against Ghana. But it wasn’t a shameful loss. Ghana played solidly. Their keeper was outstanding. The ball didn’t bounce our way a few times when it could have. End of story. The U.S. still played well, just as they did the entire tournament, and we should all have our heads up high.
I love the team. That video was amazing.
I don’t think I’m being pessimistic as much as realistic. We did as expected. I’ve said that. But it lent itself to more, the way it played out. We were ‘supposed’ to go out in round 2 because we were thought to be playing Germany. Ghana. We should have done more.
Did I ever think the US did not have Algeria game in control? You mean other than the pre 15 minute goal that was saved by the grace of the post?! Naaaaah.
I played football all my life as well, and one thing I can tell you is I don’t think we would have been very thrilled or patted ourselves in the back if the reason we were coming back every single game was due to mental lapses and not being able to start playing at minute 0, but instead minute 15. I did appreciate their heart. I would have simply much more appreciated concentration from the starting whistle…
I didn’t think the cup was a failure or anything like that. We did average, as expected. Just wish we could have taken advantage of that road we were given: Ghana, Uruguay…that’s as easy as it gets in round 2 / Quarters.
No, Paul, the reason the USA led for 2 minutes is due to our giving up goals the first 15 minutes of the game. I know some on here want to keep Bradley, but that has to be coaching. There’s no other excuse. You give up a goal within 15 minutes and then start playing.
The goal that was taken away from us was in the last minute. We would have led for a total of 3 minutes had the guy allowed that one.
Yes, the pre-cup thought of exiting the 2nd round were ‘spot on’ – if that’s all you look at. If, before the tourney, someone were to bet you that we’d be disqualified until a last minute goal put us in the second round…well, I bet most on here would have taken the other side of that bet.
To me, it was an average cup. To call it a success or anything else is misleading. Par. Maybe. Average. Sure. Nothing more.
And the way it played out for us, Ghana in the 2nd round. We should have taken advantage and done more.
Does anybody now where I can find the full match video of the US-Turkey friendly?
The Good – The incredible comeback and injury time goal.
The Bad – The referees who disallowed two good goals.
The Ugly – Nobody says it but Howard let up two terrible goals agains Ghana. The guy we pinned our hopes on let us down most in the end.
The US got to about the proper level in this tournament. I don’t agree with who say the US would’ve given Uruguay a hard time in the semis. As brave as the he US backline had been they would’ve struggled against Forlan and Suarez and given the US lack of consistent offensive creativity it would’ve taken a great chance and execution to score against them. I think it would’ve been a convincing 2-0 or 3-0 victory for Uruguay. The US is a solid top 20 team but not a consistent top 10 team yet. The US has made amazing strides in the past 20 years and MLS has grown immensely in the past 15 years. We should celebrate and enjoy this and look forward to the exciting future ahead for US soccer without pretending we’re at a place in the world we don’t yet belong in.
You know, I can’t help but think on what kind of role the MLS has played in this cycle. Howard, Guzan, Buddle Findley, Dempsey, Holden, Donovan, Altidore, Edu, Gooch, Clark, Beasley, Bornstein and Senior Bradley all have MLS ties, and who knows how many more US prospects are currently getting their start there now.
It makes me wonder about the growing amount of DP cash being put into play. That money could be going to other priorities (development of youth or retaining rising US stars, rather than quick fixes). The more roster space that is taken up by older stars doing a 2 season victory lap and selling a pile of jerseys, the less roster room there is for our pups to cut their teeth and grow into the next generation of Yanks.
I know we’ve all been criticial of MLS from time to time, but they’ve played a key (if not sexy) role in where we’ve gotten to and where we’re going as a soccer nation. I can’t help but wonder if our kvetching is pushing the league in a direction that might become very bad for US soccer.
No wonder Spain won. WHat you described is an European movie plot!! 🙂
Sorry, did not mean hit the reply button.
Nice video. By the way, The U.S. should have beaten Ghana. A no look clearance scissor kick that turned into a greatest pass in Ghana soccer history ultimately was the winning goal in this game. That would not happen again if these two teams played 100 times. That’s the way it goes, though. Despite the unfortunate loss, the U.S. has gained much more respect than they did in 2002 and could have easily gone to the semi-finals. Go USA!!!
We’re disappointed because if if ricardo clark never saw the field, and if altidore and findley had a soccer iq over 10, we would have been in the Semi’s… It’s amazing to me how altidore’s feet are allergic to a bouncing ball, and findley’s are allergic to a ball sitting calmly in the 10 yard box.
Yeah, LDs goal was against Slovenia was calming a bit when I was watching the goal. Frankly, it reminded me of Fabiano’s goal right out of halftime in the Confed Cup final.
Agreed. Best call I’ve heard in a long long time from a truly outstanding announcer. Really amazing tv moment all around, including the video. The break out run from Donovan, the lead pass, the cross into Dempsey rebouding back out and the momentary feeling of disaster and finally the happy dagger of Donovan arriving at the right moment and striking home. Had a movie quality about it — a really good movie.
Well said
you act like ricardo clark is some kind of clown while in reality he was instrumental in our qualifier, was signed by a bundesliga club, and was an mls all star quitea a few times. don’t tear him completely apart for a mistake. remember reyna in 2006.
you don’t seem to compehend that feilhaber is not a 90 minute player and has not been either with usmnt or club for over 2 years and fitness tests indicate he is not in the best condition. you can not expext him to go much muore tan 60 minutes.
edu has not been a full time performer with usmnt or club for more than a year and again don, expext him to give you more than 60-75minutes.
findley adds speed which we lack and almost scored a goal.
if we could have gotten 45 minutes in before feilhaber and edu came in we would have been much stronger in the closing minutes. feillhaber and edu were gassed after they played 60 minutes.
sometimes the best plans don’t work out but there was nothing wrong with the plan.
I don’t understand the people expressing more disappointment than exhilaration. There are only, what, 3 or 4 teams that can routinely expect to make the quarters? I mean, Argentina has been knocked out in the group stage before, knocked out in the R16, same for Spain…Italy and France didn’t even make it to the R16 this year. These are all supposed soccer powers. The USA is a mid-tier team. It’s preposterous to be disappointed that the US didn’t make the semis. They played 4 competitive games against tough competition. They displayed skill and passion, and won the respect of the world. They won their group and went out in the same round as England, Mexico, and other quality teams. There is absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of. The only disappointment is that we lost to Ghana – a grossly underestimated team, by the way – instead of a “big” team.
To me, this was an enormously succesful World Cup, in which the USA proved that it’s a legit soccer team, and that, given a couple of luckier bounces, could make a run to the semis. That is an incredible acheivement for a team, as someone here has already pointed out, that was a laughingstock just two decades ago.
I honestly don’t know how, in retrospect, people can look back at this WC as anything other than an enormous success. Of course you can say “oh but we should have beat ghana!” Bullshiite. Ghana is a really good team and we played them even for 120 minutes. They just eked out the win. Good for them. It’s not like the USA lost an R16 game to Jamaica.
The fact that I, and many others, would agree with you; that the US could have easily made the semifinals if Gooch and Davies were healthy, shows just how far we have come.
We could have gone to the semifinals and you would be posting on here about how our team would have won the world cup if it wasnt for him. F@ck off
shhhh
awesome Mat, that summed up exactly how I feel
Edit: Bradley’s goal against Slovenia, not Algeria
In different moments, it was exciting, inspiring, emotional and disappointing. Bradley’s goal against Algeria and LD’s 3 goals brought out more raw emotion from an early morning bar crowd than I could have ever imagined seeing in this country. LD’s goal against Algeria was one of the most incredible and awe-inspiring sports moments I’ve experienced in my 30 years on this planet.
Incredibly proud of Bob and the boys for finally finding our style. Relentless, attacking, entertaining. We proved that we don’t need to bunker to win. We earned some respect.
Seeing Bob go 3-4-3 on the fly and truly go for it in the Algeria game made me proud that he was our coach and that he wasn’t content to let our fate be decided by anyone but ourselves. Seeing him start Rico Clark in the Ghana game made me realize he’s still got a long, long way to go.
The fact that the entire bar let out an audible grown when Rico Clark showed up in the starting 11 for the Ghana match actually made me proud. Not only do people want to see the US succeed, average fans are getting invested in the team to the point that they are starting to become knowledgeable enough to have an opinion on our lineups, formations, substitutions and such.
Disappointing because we had a legit shot at the semi-finals and we couldn’t get it done.
In the end, the biggest thing I’ll remember about it is that as disappointed as I was after the Ghana loss, I was and one month later still am more hopeful about the future of US soccer than I have ever been.
I don’t understand why Bradley’s mistakes are capitalized on but his accomplishments are always brushed away. Bradley gave this team an indentity; a style and perspective that they worked with and used on the best teams in the world with great effect. Bradley has made errors, there’s no doubt about that, but he seems to have done about as many good things as he has done bad.
A total drag. An international-class coach would not have a) played Onyewu, b) started Clark or Findley, and c) would have given Edu a permanent, full-time place next to Bradley instead of jerking him around and diluting his confidence. Bob Bradley is an amateur, MLS-level manager. Period. Sunil has to go; this lousy finish is on his head. These guys are strictly amateur. Why aren’t we playing in the South American championship? Because we sent a third-rate team and embarrassed ourselves in order to concentrate on other meaningless competitions. We’ve got our priorities wrong. Give JK the control he wants; he’s a thinker and motivator and knows more about the game than Bradley will ever be able to imagine. Time for Team USA to grow up. We lost to a tiny nation whose heart and soul was injured and out, and they beat us fair and square because we were tottering along rather than blazing forward. The lamest possible outcome happened; we got out of the first round and now there are fools talking about giving Bradley another four years. Horrors.
USA all the way baby lets start this next process good by calling up our best future players. I am very impressed with some new talent in MLS in Kevin Alston of New England Revolution, Dany Cruz of Houston Dynamo, Omar Gonzalez of Los Angeles Galaxy. Hey Adu wake up bro.
that was necessary
What a mistake not to play Buddle…Altidore stinx
I didn’t jump around as much when I saw that goal, but it was mainly because we weren’t done yet. Otherwise, I agree; that goal wasn’t just a spark in that it got the comeback going, but it was very emphatically taken, as he simply smacked it. It’s a goal with the kind of intensity that starts of comebacks like that, just like Charlie’s goal against Egypt was more about intensity, heart and drive then actual skill, although Donovan showed great technique to put the ball right where he wanted.
Hard to add much of significance or interest here, really. Glad to see more positive than negative reactions, though of course everyone has some sense of disappointment mixed in with the pride.
However, I’ll add an off question on a point I haven’t seen addressed: am I the only one that remembers LD’s goal against Slovenia as being more inspiring than the one against Algeria? I mean I know the latter was the game-winner, and in a more obviously crucial moment, guven the way things had gone prior to that. And I know the one against Slovenia didn’t even tie it. But to me, that was the moment, down 2-0 right after the half, that the USA sort of picked itself up, in the form of its most potent leader, and with a most forceful, in your face goal, and said, “Screw this. We are just not going down, here.” It was when the team turned the tide to get to the Bradley tying goal and the meaning in the Algeria match.
I do ‘t know. Maybe it’s just me…
Personally, I still get more emotional when I see MBs goal rather than Donovan’s. I cried when MB scored that equalizer. I was watching the Algeria game with more people, so our reaction was just jumping up and down screaming and hugging each other. I am glad we have a defining goal now on video for US Soccer (No video exists of Joe Gaetjens goal), and I love Ian Darke’s commentary on the goal as well… “OH! IT’S INCREDIBLE! GO! GO! USA!”
There may have been some good goals in 02 or 94, but Donovan’s goal will go down in US Soccer lore, and really epitomizes our national team for the 2010 WC qualifying and the tournament itself.
I was disappointed when we got knocked out by Ghana. But maybe they are better than we think, plus they seem to have our number now in the WC, maybe it’s best we avoid them (luck of the draw, though, so easier said than done).
If we had Davies I think we would have beaten Ghana, but not so sure about Uruguay…But anything can happen once you reach the knockout stage.
Now, we need to try and get to the knockout stage for 2 consecutive WCs.
Oh, I forgot, I guess we did win something… Group C! So, that’s a start… We need to build on the positives from this WC.
who?
The WC in SA for me was entertaining, exhilirating, and ultimately, a dissapointment. There is no question that the talent is making great strides.
I had a horrible feeling when CD9 went down and Onyewu’s injury didn’t help either. If they were healthy, I think a semifinal appearance would be all but assured.
Yeah, except we didn’t play Slovakia. We played Slovenia.