Italy did their part for us, beating the Czech Republic 2-0, but the Americans fell to Ghana 2-1.

Bruce Arena apparently had no ideas as the US offense continued to sputter in a match they had to win to advance. Claudio Reyna gifted Ghana the first goal, losing the ball in the back trying to dribble out of danger. Can’t blame him for whatever injury he came up with. I was sick too, after that. The other score was a dubious penalty right before the break. But there’s no point in whining. You have to go out and win these matches, and they didn’t.

Clint Dempsey’s goal after a nice pass from Beasely, his only moment all day, was great. Unfortunately, they needed to do that two more times. If you only manage it once, it smacks of luck.

Landon Donovan was a complete waste of space the entire game. Worse than a waste. At least if he wasn’t on the pitch, somebody else would have been taking the set pieces he was constantly booming uselessly. Anybody else. Please. As expected, Michael Essien ruled the midfield. Stay in LA Lando, you are not ready for prime time.

The US team didn’t look sharp or ready to play from the first whistle on. With everything riding on this, I’d hoped for a bit of flair from somewhere. There isn’t any.