The U.S. national soccer team has been utterly embarrassed four times in the last two months, and yet head coach Bob Bradley is poised to escape unscathed. Either he’s a genius, or he has a real-life version of that gadget Will Smith used in Men in Black.
First, it was a 3-1 abomination at Costa Rica in World Cup qualifying on June 3, a match the U.S. might have done better to forfeit, since they didn’t show up to play. All was forgiven, of course, when they came from behind to beat Honduras at Soldier Field three days later.
Then, of course, was hell-ride-turned-heavenly-journey in South Africa. Another 3-1 loss, this time to Italy, stung badly, and the 3-0 debacle against Brazil was unacceptable. But nobody remembers those results after the Americans stormed onto the front pages by upsetting world No. 1 Spain and nearly doing the same in a rematch with the Samba kings.
Now we have Bradley’s house of cards squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which was blitzed, 5-0, by Mexico in Sunday’s Gold Cup final, the Mexicans’ first win against the U.S. on U.S. soil this decade (12 matches) and the first U.S. home defeat against a regional opponent in 58 matches.
The toll of six games in 22 days was simply more than a U.S. “B” team of mostly young and inexperienced players could handle. The big guns, however, will be tasked with going into Mexico City for a World Cup qualifier on Aug. 12 and do what has never been done there, beat El Tri.
If Bradley pulls that one off, he might as well start wearing a cape on the sidelines.
