The Confederations Cup to this point of the United States Men's National Team has been an unmitigated disaster. Two matches, two poor performances, two defeats. In neither game, first against Italy and then against Brazil, did the Americans show any glimpse of being a team that could threaten to make some noise at next year's South African main event.
In fact, things have been so bad to this point, and some inconsistent play in CONCACAF qualifying previous to the tournament hasn't helped, that Bob Bradley is now taking some heat from fans.
A strong performance today, preferably a win, against African champions Egypt would go a long way towards easing some of that pressure. While Bradley will not completely be let off the hook, an improvement over the last two efforts might give at least a small segment of the American soccer community faith that the man in charge has some idea of what he's doing.
It's a tall order. Egypt has played exceedingly well in the Confederations Cup, first losing a back and forth match with Brazil 4-3, then defeating defending World Champions Italy 1-0 in a historic result. Just based on the eyeball test, American chances against a team flying as high as the Pharaohs would seem to be small. So small, in fact, that for many observers it's not a matter of victory, but more a matter of how bad the final margin of defeat will be.
One more chance with the "full-strength" squad to prove that he has a plan, one more chance to inject some flair and skill into a side that has shown none of either during their stay in South Africa; it's what faces Bradley today, with all USMNT supporter eyes on him. Many of us are convinced that the Princeton man has both lost his team and run out of ideas, and it will take an overwhelming turnaround against a nation that has played with and beaten two of the best teams in the world to change our minds.
If Bradley is worth his salt, if his defenders are right when they say that he deserves to stay on and see this World Cup cycle through, then the US will be much improved today. But if he is on his last legs as National Team manager, and the job is too big for him to handle, then we'll see another disappointing performance that will only server to increase the heat on him and rile up USMNT fans to even louder calls for his head.
For the players, it's all about pride. While they are still mathematically alive to advance in the tournament, the chances are so remote as to be laughable. As such, the effort is the focus. They'll certainly want to play well, and no one would suggest that they haven't done their best to win; but because the first two matches went so poorly (minus one solid half against Italy), there's extra pressure now to prove that they belong on the world stage of international soccer.
I have no idea what to expect. I'm not even sure that Bradley has been shocked out of his shell, and will actually try to put a team on the field that has a chance of scoring against Egypt. I worry that we'll see the same mistakes made today that we saw in the previous two matches; namely, players who have no business playing a significant role for the Nats standing on the field when kickoff comes (hi, DaMarcus), while players that have yet to be given an chance and that could add a new dimension to the American effort sit on the bench (hello, Jose). My faith has been eroded, and I can no longer bring myself to have hopeful expectations.
I want to know how you feel today, both pre- and post-match.
Ahead of the game, do you have faith that Bradley will shake things up or manage to get a full, cohesive effort out of the team? Will a strong performance persuade you that Bradley should stay on to see out qualifying and lead the squad to the World Cup next year?
Come by after the match and share your impressions, as we all attempt to put whatever kind of game they play in perspective.
