Ghana 2 - US 1

The dream is over. The US has crashed and burned its way out of the WC. And unlike the Italy game, when (let's be honest here) the team played its way to 9 men, here the referee really did botch a major call. At least, none of the replays I've seen suggest that Gooch's bump of Razak Pimpong merited a foul call, let alone a PK. A game-changing call. Yes, the US had another 45 minutes to play, but going to the locker room even is much different going in behind.

That said, the US never played with the intensity or imagination or speed needed to match their competition in any of the three games it played. The Czechs, a team later exposed as slow, ran through and around the US. The Italy game showed that the US has heart, but not the skill to match a top team. Against Ghana, the team's weaknesses were on full display: lack of depth, poor first touch on the ball, insufficient speed, lack of imagination. Too often, the US offense consisted of long balls over the top hoping that a single striker, usually Brian McBride, could bring the ball down and get a shot on the ball. This is less a strategy for success than a hope for a miracle -- sort of the hail Mary of soccer.

Other shortcomings: a lack of patience in the midfield. Argentina and Brazil pass the ball from side to side, up and back, probing defense before striking. Players move constantly. There was little of that from the US. After a handful -- a small handfull -- of passes, the US tries to strike, but there's nothing there. On set pieces, the US was dreadful. In the Ghana game, the US had a late free kick from just outside the box on the left, which Donovan sent far over the far post. The US rarely threatened. And although the team did have seven corners and seven shots, only three of these shots were on goal.

So although the US MNT did get -- well, look up and to your right -- on the PK call, there were too many other problems and issues with this team that led to this early exit. And if this was the best US team ever, all it shows is that the world has also improved and that the US remains a developing soccer nation.