Reader comments
Soccer: Blown opportunity: U.S. loses lead, match to Brazil

Anonymous | 1:38 p.m. June 28, 2009

Wow this is big if they win Go USA

haha | 1:57 p.m. June 28, 2009

Holy cow!

todd from santa ana | 2:21 p.m. June 28, 2009

gutted. We will never be close likely to win a major trophy for some time. Pack the paint (oh thats Sloan) actually, play in a shell, only counter attack, hang on soccer, cannot keep posession.

You have a 3-2 loss. Great tournament comeack by US but have to pressure Brazil and we did not. If it was not for Howard Brazil would have scored 6 or 7, terrible strategy by Bradley at halftime.

Comments continue below

bradley... | 2:25 p.m. June 28, 2009

looks like the usa has spent months practicing the firm grip they kept on their ankles in the second half.

usa soccer...great team that ALWAYS chokes when it counts.

Anonymous | 2:29 p.m. June 28, 2009

That one hurt......

not there yet | 2:29 p.m. June 28, 2009

sorry you die hards but i am a soccer coach and fan of usa but will readily admit we are not even close to there yet. When we can be a Spain team playing the game how it was meant to be played and them on top form then i will say we have arrived. Packing it in and getting teams that are not playing there best is not why it is called "the beautiful game" there is a reason Brazil has won the most cups they play it like it is meant to be played, with creativity and flare and no fear.

Too bad so sad | 5:24 p.m. June 28, 2009

this was a real nice moral victory. way to go. you're almost there. but then again, there is no such thing as a moral victory, so it really is a loss.

fire bradley | 8:31 p.m. June 28, 2009

2 goals up, you know brazil is going to come out strong. so what do you do? sub out your best midfielder feilhaber for none other than klejstan? are you kidding me. the guy is terrible. he comes on the field and immediately starts coughing up the ball in the middle of critical counter attacks. no quality what so ever and yet bob bradley keeps on going back to him. we have adu and torres on the bench all tournament. why bring them along if you have no intention of playing them? crazy. if he knew he wasn't going to play them why waste a roster spot on them.

then he puts out bornstein? seriously? bornstein?

then to top it off he takes out clark and subs in the slowest, laziest, worthless forward of conor casey? he hasn't proved himself one bit and yet he keeps coming in and getting precious playing time.

i don't understand bob bradley. he did well with some of his tactics but his substitutions and choice of players are disturbing. we need someone new. someone with an eye for talent.

USA fan | 9:10 p.m. June 28, 2009

Dissapointing, but the U.S. proved that it has the talent to play with the best. It was just outcoached. The players deserved that victory. New coach please. You can't sit back and just play defensive, you will lose most of the time. When US pushed up, they were just as good as BRazil. GO USA, we are proud because you gave it your all.

Rob | 9:34 p.m. June 28, 2009

Fire bradley? what a joke.. We beat spain the confederations cup semi's and put up a respectable performance against brazil and you want to fire bradley?? the only coach who has gotten us to a fifa fina EVER! You are completely off on this one.. Our boys just gave us some respect and now for once the usa is not the laughing stock of the world..

Dempsey.. Donovan.. Howard | 9:42 p.m. June 28, 2009

These guys are going to be getting some serious looks from some bigtime teams. Good for dempsey winning the bronze ball and howard for winning the keeper of the tourny

soup | 9:48 p.m. June 28, 2009

The U.S. finally earns some respect.. It's about time! That being said we totally and completely blew it! 2-0 lead at half and then we just got put in our place in the 2nd half.. Brazil showed why they are likely the new #1 team in the world.

I predict spain will drop to 3 the u.s. will rise to 8th and Brazil will be #1 again..

cant play not to lose | 10:02 p.m. June 28, 2009

that was a body blow

US | 10:11 p.m. June 28, 2009

Our country would beat Brazil in a real game, like real football.

how do you know? | 10:59 p.m. June 28, 2009

there is only one country in the entire world that plays american football.. Everyone else plays football and really nobody cares if you think you can beat brazil in american football. That's like an australian saying, we would beat america in a real game! like rugby! Who cares

if only you knew | 11:05 p.m. June 28, 2009

Well considering there are less people that play football in the world than live in utah i guess you will never know..

what do you define as a real? | 11:21 p.m. June 28, 2009

Well speaking statistically there are 3 million american football players, 300 million football players. Tv Ratings superbowl 160 million viewers, world cup 1.5 billion viewers. So if you define a sport by money and numbers its no contest.

If you define a sport by gameplay.. well lets just say there are no oxygen tanks, steroids, or breaks in gameplay... That's just my opinion and i do like american football its just not the same as football(soccer)

Anonymous | 11:27 p.m. June 28, 2009

Answering the comment about the US beating Brazil "in a real game, like real football". Sorry to tell you this but football is not even an olympic game. The US team has made history by going to the end of the competition but you guys have a lot to learn yet! Lets face it, you had no chance with the best team in the world. Just to remind you, we were 5 times world champions! Anyways, congrats to the US soccer team cuz you guys are getting better!

A_Chinese_American | 6:55 a.m. June 29, 2009

I am proud of U.S. MNT. They are great! (even they lose this one)

Wow | 7:21 a.m. June 29, 2009

People, this is like the Aggies beating the Utes in football and then coming close to beating the Cougars. And then do nothing after that. Now, you need some consistency and put some more wins against top teams on the field or this confed cup meant nothing. I do have to say, I gained some respect for US soccer. But that's about it. You win credibility with wins in finals, not almost-wins.

Fire Bob Bradley | 8:15 a.m. June 29, 2009

...poor tactician, poor motivator, poor coach. His players got him into the finals.

Move on Bob.

astroboy | 8:29 a.m. June 29, 2009

I was pretty down on the MNT before this tourney, mostly because of their recent performances in WC qualifying and because of Bradley. The did little to help that in group play, but have come back from the brink with that last 3 games.

Its good to see that they still have some heart, and played well with it even in this last loss. There is little more you can ask from a team that to play with heart and leave it all on the field.

But I agree with some previous posters in that Bradley needs to be examined. His tactics seem spot on some games (Spain) and then off in others (2nd half of the Final). And his roster choices and substitutions are questionable at best.

So well done to the players, but Bradley needs to find a way to get the best players on the field and get them playing more consistent. This 2nd round of qualifying matches will be his proving ground. Off a high like this, they should be able to dominate concacaf.

We'll see.

just glad | 8:41 a.m. June 29, 2009

i am always glad to see the us play brazil bexause since am was born here and my parents are from brazil, i get the best of both worlds. i would have loved to see the usa beat brazil in that soccer match. it would have given soccer the extra boost they needed here in the usa. unfortunatley, it will be a while before we beat brazil, but we'll get the respect we deserve some day. someday, the usa will win the world cup. oh, fyi, brazil holds another record not many people know about. they hold the record for winning games where they don't score the first goal. with brazil, it's not over till it's over. no other team can say that.

McKay | 9:04 a.m. June 29, 2009

I agree with just about every other post here. The US won the Spain game in spite of Bob and almost pulled it off again yesterday. He constantly wastes his substitutes,(the 3 subs he made yesterday made absolutely no sense) and makes poor tactical decisions. Going into a shell defensively and just conceding possession to Brazil is ridiculous. Does anybody know what the deal is with Adu? I watched him play in the U20 WC and the Olympics and he was one of the best players on the field in every game. How does he not see the field for the MNT? Is he in Bobs doghouse or something?

Cam | 9:52 a.m. June 29, 2009

Some "soccer fans" that post don't know a thing about the game calling for Bradley's head. What a joke. If you would've told me after the first Brazil game that we would eventually be playing in the championship game and have a 2-0 lead, I would've laughed. Although it really hurts that we were so close to winning and didn't, lets accept the fact that we aren't a world power and won't be for a while. But we do have a very good team that is fun to watch and good enough to give us hope when we play these world powers. At least we know we have a chance when we play the Spain's and Brazil's...our team is good enough to give us a chance. Let's enjoy this team for what they are, realizing that we are not quite there yet but are getting there. GO USA SOCCER!!!!

to:what do you define as a real? | 10:48 a.m. June 29, 2009

i agree with you on all points except one. sorry but there are steroids in soccer. You are naive if you think otherwise

Compete | 11:04 a.m. June 29, 2009

I was on these boards after the first two embarrassing losses of this tournament asking for a team that would at least compete on a national level.

Unbelievable performance by the US the last 3 games. Just didn't have enough in the tank to hold on. Playing a prevent defense typically does 1 thing...prevents you from winning. That aside, it was very nice to see the US produce some offense finally. The defense needs work, too many shots on goal. Without Howard it probably would have been 6-2.

Disappointing to let that one slip away, but comforting to see even with inferior athletes we can at least compete with the big boys. Hope they can build on this effort.

Gus and Jerry | 11:05 a.m. June 29, 2009

Hey I think that USA is going to get there but they need to change the way the play, they have big and fast players, but they need to work their touch or their brain how to create a good play, not just counterattack and stay on the back to wait for them to score! but they're getting there and im a Mexico fan but USA was a good rival in the final, they played good but they planned it pretty bad for the second half. VIVA MEXICO

Re: Cam | 11:06 a.m. June 29, 2009

I'm afraid most of us know more than you.

We didn't play with Spain, they outclassed us the entire game.

We were lucky to make it thru group play.

If yesterdays game had 10 more minutes, Brazil would have scored at least 2 more.

Goodbye Bob, and good riddance.

agree with Re: Cam | 12:34 p.m. June 29, 2009

yes we got some great wins. but in large part due to the effort of the players, not the genius of bradley. his substitutions were terrible. not just against brazil, but the entire tournament. he also sticks with his favorites even when they are terrible. then he ignores two of the best purely talented footballers in the american system, torres/adu.

what we needed during the brazilian onslaught of attack was composure, someone comfortable on the ball. not klejstan. so what does bradley do? take out your best midfielder feilhaber. then leave your two best attacking/talented players on the bench.

that is why many of us are fed up with bradley. it was a great tournament. great effort. i am proud of the team. but also disappointed because we could have done better. and as was mentioned by other posters, we won, but were still outplayed by both spain and brazil.

Good players bad coach | 12:39 p.m. June 29, 2009

Coach Bradley does not coach right. The U.S. can control the ball better if they want, but Bradley wanted them to sit back and play defense. It worked in the Spain game, which doesn't happen very often. More times than not, you will lose if you sit back and try to hold the lead. The players were awesome and showed heart, but the coach was aweful. U.S. can play with the best if they play smart soccer (control midfield and push the other teams defense further back by continually attacking) not defensive soccer. U.S. lacks the ball handling skills, but they have the speed and shot skills of world class players. Landon burned that defender when he scored with speed. Go USA, you are improving, but you are still ranked top 20, not top 10 in my opinion still.

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4 photos

Antonio Calanni, AP

Brazil's Lucio, left, heads in the winning score against USA's goalkeeper Tim Howard, third from right, during their Confederations Cup final soccer match at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday.

Gallery (4 photos)