England's anguish is perhaps matched only by American excitement at Saturday's result. Whereas the Three Lions experienced incredible hype in the build-up to South Africa, the US is now able to bask in the glow of increased (and again unreasonable) expectations after Saturday's draw. That an undeserved 1-1 tie is able to generate such optimism regarding American chances is indeed incredible in and of itself. But the one thing for the serious football supporter to take away is that as bad as England was, the US was worse. American media please note that rather than abrogating the fluke that was last year's Confederations Cup performance, yesterday's flukish tying goal only reinforces it.
Not only did the Americans lack the ability to creatively build up through the midfield, but, beyond Dempsey and, on a few occasions, Altidore, the Americans' skill level on an individual basis was also woefully inadequate, save for Tim Howard who was pretty brilliant I must admit. Tactically and technically, the Americans pale in comparison to the world's elite (e.g. Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy [well not so much post Euro 2008, but they are still world champs], and Argentina). Indeed, if England's parts are greater than the whole, neither America's parts nor its whole is all that great.
I wish the Yanks had a better team, and I will still root for them while they are a work in progress. But, make no mistake, I will not delude myself into believing that they warrant a tenth of the increased expectations they garnered after Saturday. In fact, no serious American footie fan should.
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