SoccerBlogs

Seriously, the dude's got a screw loose when it comes to losing. I'm sure American fans won't need to be reminded of the Elbow Massacre of 2002 - though, come on now, be honest, it is pretty difficult to resist wanting to do grievous bodily harm to Cobi Jones isn't it? Then he goes and shoves his own Barca teammate (Messi) to the ground during a scramble for the ball in Mexico's 3-0 Copa America semifinal defeat.

. . . I've had a few. Watching the knockout stages of the Copa does make me wonder what a full US team could have done in this tournament. That said, I still think that Bradley made the right decision in his tournament choices. Even if we swapped "A" and "B" teams, or played the "A" team in both tournaments, preparation time for the Copa would have been what .

Well, that pretty much defines "not with a bang, but a whimper". After a simply awful first half, the US dominates the second but can't find a finish and is lucky to escape being sliced open on the counter. I suppose throwing out the "C" team for this match could have made that first half predictable, but it was still a bit disappointing to say the least to see them fall for the third time and claim the dubious distinction as the last-place finisher in the tournament.

Now I'm not saying that Mexico deliberately played for the draw in their 0-0 snoozer with Chile, but they sure weren't trying terribly hard to win the game, were they? Now, you can say that they ran out the reserves and played a cautious game to guarantee first place in their group, but if the Soccer Gods are kind, they'll deliver a Paraguay-Argentina draw tomorrow night so that the Mexicans wind up facing Argentina for their (lack of) efforts.

Despite dominating the match against Peru and a lovely goal from Moreno, the Bolivians, up a man and up a goal with just minutes to go, fall at the final hurdle. Peru's late equalizer cut short the Copa for Bolivia, who would have advanced as the second place team in Group A with the win. Bolivia played some really nice stuff in this tournament, and I'm sorry to see them bow out after being so close.

Despite all of the possession, all of the chances created, and a generally impressive outing from the "B" squad, the US manages to lose again by a significant margin. And why? Because we seem to have a squad-wide case of finishing-itis, with Ricardo Clark being the only one seemingly immune to the disease. With the loss, the US is all but guaranteed another three-and-out in a major tournament as they will have to absolutely punish Colombia by a big margin (unlikely given the state of US shooting) and hope for favorable results elsewhere in order to advance.

Mexico and breakout star Nery Castillo were nowhere near as impressive as they were against Brazil, but the result remained the same. The win confirms Mexico as the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of the Copa America and they will win their group outright with either a win or draw on the final matchday. Ecuador is virtually guaranteed to be out of the competition after failing to gain a point in their first two matches, which is a bit of a shame as they controlled much of the game against Mexico with a fast, athletic style of play, but surrendered goals through defensive lapses and counterattacks.

Jaime looked pretty darn good out there, particularly his burst down the sideline, hurtling Uruguayans until he was felled by Diogo and nearly setting up an equalizer from distance in the late going. Though he may not be well-rested on his return to DC, at least he'll be full of confidence following his contributions to the Bolivian cause. Unfortunately for his nation, but fortunately for his club, he should be on a plane home before the week is out.