Close, But...
Sigh...From a 2-0 lead at halftime, the US falls to Brazil 3-2 in the Confederations Cup final. (And it really should've been 4-2 -- The refs missed a Brazil goal in the 62nd minute.) Well, we had a good run, and we'll always have the Spain win...onto 2010.
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Brazil was simply going to be gravy. Beating Spain, and not by some slim margin or bad call, was clearly the trophy of this tournament.
Still, Donovan's second goal was a beauty, and most definitely the goal of his international career. It was taken with a creativity and confidence that seems to be non-existent most of the time. I was drinking hard at this point, and to watch it all fall apart in the 2nd half was like being gutted.
Once again, though, at the end of the day, U.S. soccer really won here -- we're talking about a team that got murdered by Costa Rica a month prior to this thing. I don't know if this will mark the turn of the tide when we start to become a major force in international football, but that day is clearly not too far off.
And, while the Confederation's Cup may not hold anywhere near the prestige as the World Cup, it's fantastic practice. If anything, it solidified our starting squad. It made us realize exactly where our loose ends and leaky pipes are.