Not a bad showing by the US against Holland. (Getty Images)

I won’t go too into the match just yet, I have a plan on re-watching some of it later on today but I did want to give my initial player ratings from this afternoon’s 2-1 loss to the Dutch in Amsterdam.

WVH USMNT Player Ratings:

Tim Howard – 7
Jonathan Spector – 5
Carlos Bocanegra – 7
Jay DeMerit – 5
Jonathan Bornstein – 2
Stuart Holden – 5
Michael Bradley – 5
Jose Francisco Torres – 5
Landon Donovan – 4
Jozy Altidore – 6
Robbie Findley – 4

Subs:
Maurice Edu – 4
DeMarcus Beasley – 7
Alejandro Bedoya – 6
Heath Pearce – 4
Eddie Johnson – 4
Clarence Goodson – 5

Top Three Players for US:

1. DeMarcus Beasley – Off the bench he was very good today, probably much better than he’s been in recent games that I’ve seen him in. I like the idea of him still coming off the bench though instead of starting for the US.
2. Tim Howard – He made his usual few big saves but got unlucky with the PK and the other goal. Still can’t blame this loss at all on Timmy, he worked his ass off as usual.
3. Carlos Bocanegra – Got the lone goal on a great free kick by Beasley. He was so freakin’ open on that play it was ridiculous. He also did well in the back today for the US.

Overall it wasn’t a terrible game by the US. I thought Donovan was a ghost most of the game but that could be due to poor service from out of the back for him. Early on the US was too predictable in the midfield and in the final third. Robbie Findley was okay but really showed he has no shot at a roster spot in South Africa after getting over powered in this game by the Dutch defense. He has the speed to beat them but never really took people on like we would have liked.

Bad day for Bornstein though. First the penalty late in the first half and then the deflection for the second Dutch goal in the second half. I thought Bob Bradley should have subbed him at half for someone like Pearce but he’s got too much of a love fest for Bornstein.

Again, I hope to have more later on this game.

Bob Bradley has some tough choices to make for tomorrow's friendly against Holland (Getty Images)

Honestly I need to amp up my USMNT cover on here. I’ll admit I don’t get to see every game like I would like and I honestly nearly forgot the El Salvador game last week. In fact I didn’t even get to watch all of it but what I did see what the final 20 minutes or so which were fun to view since it was a nice comeback for the US.

What we know is this Holland game tomorrow is a biggie. Its in Holland and the Dutch are easily one of the best squads in the World right now. But this is more than a high profile friendly for Bob Bradley it is a chance to really finish filling out his roster for June at the World Cup in South Africa.

A good chunk of the roster is probably set but for those bubble players this is a big test. The two friendlies so far this year were definitely for the MLS talent to show their stuff and while they did a decent job only a couple of that B or C bunch will make an sort of dent in this roster come June.

Bradley has a couple areas to hammer out before June. The nearly all his defense needs to be figured out, his defensive midfield spot, and a striker. Continue Reading…

Disappointing yes, but proud of the US national team nonetheless. (Getty Images)

No one ever said this game was easy. The highs and lows of soccer have never been more noticeable until today.

It is always amazing how a game can be so different from one half to the next. The first half in the FIFA Confederation’s Cup final against Brazil showed the world that the US is here to stay and could be a power on the biggest stages of them all. But the second half showed that the US is just not all the way there quite yet.

Yeah, it was an emotional game to say the least and I wonder at times if the guys just ran out of steam emotionally late in the second half along with running out of steam physically and mentally. We knew Brazil would make their run in the second half and that they would more than likely score. Its never easy to go into the half with a 2-0 lead. Never easy.

But looking back the first half was more than a dream. For 45 minutes the US pressed hard and got their chances early and often. Clint Dempsey’s first goal was a bit of class between him and Jonathan Spector. The second half on the counter-attack with Charlie Davies and Landon Donovan was something else entirely. Usually the US is on the end of those kind of crazy counters, but this time it was our guys sticking it to one of the world’s best.

Let’s face it though, we should be able to say that we are emerging as a soccer power in some degree. Getting big time results across the pond, even if it is in Africa is still a big deal. Scoring two quality goals on a country like Brazil is something to be happy about. I’m not usually one for moral victories but in a way the US can hang their hats on a few quality things. I don’t believe going into the negatives in this one because I really felt a lot of the same passion and energy from the Spain game was carried over to this one.

I do believe we are getting very close to what a lot of people expect out of this group now. If anything this last week was a total confidence boost to the US national team program as a whole and going forward into next year. I know there is still some qualifying left on the menu for the year but I fully believe the US will now show less fear against those that they have struggled with before. Biggest step for this bunch will obviously be the Mexcio game in a couple months down in Mexico City. If the boys play anywhere near the level that they did against Spain and the first 45 against Brazil then we should expect our first win in Mexcio.

The US has announced to the world that they are for real here and that we aren’t just a fluke. Before this week I don’t believe we could have said that. I can say too that I have never been more proud of this bunch until now. We know where we need to get next and that is a huge step going forward.