the us will not get any respect until we win (or at least have a halfway decent showing) on foreign soil.....period. The US will keep getting invited to these big tourney's and keep geettting beat
down if they don't take them seriously and it would only beneftit the US to do so to get ready for the world cup in south africa. Its been a season of ups and downs so far CONCACAF win, Copa America
dead last and the u-20 world cup in the round of 16 so far. I hope they win, it could give the US the shot in arm that it needs....esp after coming in dead last at one of the most imporant touney's
in the world

I don't know about you guys, but it seemed to me that the commentators on GolTV, if that's what you're watching it on, were making the US's performance, better than it actually was. One guy sadi that
they were impressive against Argentina. IMPRESSIVE? THEY GOT BEAT 4-1!!! anyway, your first part of the post asks who's decision was it to bring a B squad? It was actually FIFA. FIFA rules state that
unlike UEFA leagues and CONMEBOL leagues, the MLS doesn't have to send they're players to the national team. So, the clubs that missed their stars, wanted them and got them back. At least that's what
i heard.

said*

I wouldn't feel bad about The U.S. if I were you. I think that their future looks bright but I have to say that if you wanna get invited back you better bring back your best players, otherwise
decline the invitation.

Thanks for the comments folks. Keep them coming! That is an interesting FIFA ruling. I guess because of where the MLS season falls the teams aren't required to let players go. I had heard something
about the rule but wasn't sure if it was the MLS teams who were pushing the players back into their side. However most of the players for Copa America were MLS players. I'm not sure if it is respect
I'm worried about. I just believe we will never make the leap to genuine contender for the World Cup. I think a huge step is the youth programs linking to professional clubs and bringing about a
defined structure to youth development. We are letting to many great athletes slip through the crack.

Ok, so the MLS teams not releasing players may be one thing, but what about our European based players. We could have definately used Beasley, Dempsey and Onyewu. It seems as though the other teams
had their European players. In fact, I just checked some rosters just to make sure I was not mistaken and get this: Argentina have six players on there roster who are not based out of Europe and
Brazil only have three. I hope the fact that some of Conmebol's officials expressed dissapointment that we did not take this more seriously will make us think twice before sending a "B" team if we
are invited again. I was just left wishing after each game that we could have seen the "A" team play against those guys. Still psyched about those U-20's and still a huge supporter of the Nat's.

What we did, sending a B/C squad to the Copa America, is not any different than what Argentina or Brazil have done when sending teams to compete in CONCACAF's Gold Cup. With that being said, we are
neither Argentina nor Brazil and should not send anything other than the best team we have. For God's sake, I'd like to brag that we bested a few other teams than minnows of the CONCACAF region.

Thanks for the comments. In some way I believe the US National Soccer Federation is kind of shielded from criticism from the fans. After the World Cup the nation spoke up and we kind of made Bruce
Arena the evil monster. He deserved some of the credit for the poor form but it is a systematic problem not a coaching problem. Their are only a few places where we can voice our frustration. It is
almost as if Eric Wynalda has to speak for the rest of us. I'm not a big supporter of voicing it at the game like the fans of the three lions do. I think when we have a team on the field you have to
support them no matter what. Booing them on the pitch isn't helpful. The players don't need to here it unless they are just mailing it in.

The US does not have the luxury of not sending their best to compete. Argentina and Brazil can afford to send their B squad to play in a CONCACAF tourney. But for the US...well it was clearly shown
what happens when they send their B to a CONMEBOL tournament. This was a missed opportunity for the US to build on the Gold Cup momentum and have a good showing against the Latin powerhouses. Look at
Mexico, riding the wave of playing finalist level soccer, plowing into the first group of a tournament just starting. They faced Brazil that didn't wake up until the 2nd half when they were already 2
down and couldn't breakdown Mexico's stingy defense, protecting their lead. I don't think USA would have steamrolled Argentina, but with the level of play they were playing and some of the veterans
from the A squad, they would have put up a better showing in Game 1 & maybe even won one other.

Here's my thought on the US sending of a B/C squad... Mexico is the country that begged & begged Conmebol for a chance at participating in Copa America because they saw the need to play at a
level outside CONCACAF... Mexico has always sent their best players ¿Why? Because the top players need to play against Top rated Squads to obtain experience since few Mexican players play outside
Mexico. There are many Mexican players in Copa America that have not rested because they have played the Mexico League (with 2 playoffs a year), Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana & Gold Cup. Has
this paid off? Mexico has not missed a WC from 1994 on and has only lost 2 group stage games in the process. They have a Copa Sudamericana Champion & have been in the Libertadores finals. US had
predicted they'd be World Champions in WC 2010..I don't see that happening...Do you?