Brazil 3, US 2, in a heartbreaker of a final. I won't lie. Going into the half up 2-0, I thought we were going to win.

But Brazil really poured it on in the second half -- wave after wave of attacks -- and we were just too tired to hold them off. Our two problems were: the more tired we got, the more difficult it was to hassle and pressure them (which was working in the first half), and second, we had no spells of possession to relieve Brazil's forward pressure. We just couldn't hold onto the ball long enough to disrupt their desperate push forward. We were definitely hurt by Michael Bradley's absence. Feilhaber and Clark did well; but Feilhaber and Bradley Jr. would have been better.

Oh, and one other problem: Bradley waited too long to sub (although I think Jozy probably should have stayed in), and the brought on two worthless subs, Casey and Kljestan. Others have attacked his bringing on Bornstein, but I actually think that the Bornstein sub was a net positive (although I would have subbed him in for Clark); it just wasn't as good as if he'd brought on Torres. But Bradley has decided to bury Torres.

Kljestan should never again play for the Nats. Slow and clumsy, he offers nothing defensively against legit teams, and he made at least three bad passes for every one he completed. He's worse than worthless. If anyone thinks that Adu or Torres would have been worse than Kljestan, I don't know what sport you're watching. Casey's not as actively damaging as Kljestan, but he offers nothing positive. A total waste of a roster spot.

But the truth is that I don't know if different subs (from us) would have changed the outcome. Brazil played like their lives depended on it in the second half, and I don't know that our boys -- exhausted and out of adrenaline -- could have held off such a strong and skilled team. What I do know is this: against teams just a *little* bit worse than Brazil -- Germany, England, etc. -- sub mistakes will almost certainly be the difference in close matches. Think about it this way: Dunga's subs mattered. I don't know for sure that Brazil wins if Dunga doesn't bring on Elano and Alves.

I'm happy we looked good in front of the world. I'm happy we scared the crap out of Brazil -- they were stunned in the first half, and Lucio cried with joy when the game was over. They cared about the match, they played hard, they nipped us at the end, and they were really, really happy about it. They took us very seriously (and, to their credit, they repeatedly said they would, pre-match).

What I'm unhappy about is Bob Bradley. Finally -- after a seeming eternity -- he's come close to a pretty strong starting lineup. But his in-game subs are terrible; I hear rumblings that Ching and Hejduk will start when they heal -- which would be insane; I see Torres left off the Gold Cup roster (I can only hope it was because Pachuca insisted); and I see a lot of middling MLS talent on the Gold Cup squad. He does not inspire confidence.

But Altidore, Davies, Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, Feilhaber, Gooch, Demerit, Boca, Spector, and Howard do. And so do Adu and Torres -- if only they got a chance to play.

A final word about Gooch. In the past, I've not been impressed. I thought he lacked focus in the Gold Cup two years ago, and was a yellow card waiting to happen. But in the Confederations Cup, he's been magnificent. He owns the air, totally, and has been masterful at interposing his body between the ball and the goal -- against the very best sides in the world. When healthy and confident, he's looked just fantastic.

FF