Well it was a fun run while it lasted...
After beating the No. 1 Spaniards and finishing within 45 minutes of beating the heralded Brazil team, it looked as though US Soccer was on a one-way path towards relevancy. All that was left was for the team to show up during the World Cup in South Africa next June and make their case to the world.
How everything changes in six months.
Add Clint Dempsey to the long list of talented starters who will be as useful to the US as a one-legged amputee. The striker went down last night during Fulham's 2-0 loss to Blackburn and the initial diagnosis Puts doubt on his chances of appearing in the 2010 World Cup.
He joins Oguchi Onyewu and Charlie Davies as top US players who's World Cups are in doubt. It would be naive to expect Onyewu at 100 percent, and it would be miraculous if Davies is ever the same player he once was... A travesty considering how great he could have been.
But Dempsey is just piling on the pain, and the chance for the US soccer team to make an impression on the national stage are looking grimmer every minute. The only thing worst is if Tim Howard, one of the best goalies in the world, hits his head against the goal post, causing a tumor.
Dempsey was developing into a great striker, and his performance with Fulham of the English Premier League was one of the best any American has ever had with an International team in recent memory.
Mixed with Davies, the US has lost their two of their three best offensive weapons heading into the International spotlight (Someone please find Jozy Altidore and put in him in a bubble until the World Cup start). Their replacements look to be Stuart Holden, a current free agent who is not receiving looks from anyone but Major League Soccer teams, and the enigmatic Damarcus Beasley.
Yes Beasley. Once one of the most promising players in American soccer, he helped lead the 2002 team to an unprecedented quarterfinals appearance in the World Cup. Now he cannot even find a spot on the roster, especially after his disastrous play during the 2009 Confederation Cup match against Brazil.
For those uninformed, Beasey mishandled a ball on a short corner kick, leading to Brazil equalizer goal. Beasley was swiftly removed and has not seen playing time with the US since.
But is the Beas back? He's having a nice season at the Rangers so far, so there is slight hope of optimism in his future endeavors.
But when the US finally has a chance to step up on the international stage and make a statement, there needs to be more than hope in your corner.
And all the US has heading into the World Cup is hope tears of ligaments heal quicker than normal.
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