Well, I hope US can pull off an upset win aginst Italy. I always root for the underdog, especially when the “overdog” is Italy. It´s a danish-italian thing.

Go US…

I don´t feel disrespected, and ofcause a nation of 300 mill. has the potential to produce a lot more talent, than one of 5.
Our current national team lacks desire and are at a low point, it really sucks right now. I think they need new inspiration in form af a new coach.
And how good are/were our players? Pele has praised danish soccer several times, and he should know a thing or two about soccer. He has called Michael Laudrup the best nr. 10 in the world, and in his active days Elkjaer was one of the(if not THE) most effective and unpredictable strikers. Morten Olsen, the current national coach, was a libero same caliber as Beckenbauer, and Schmeichel was the best keeper EVER! We´ve played some of the most beautiful and memorable WC games(Uruguay ´86, Brazil ´98), we were european champs back in 92, and have beaten just about every superpower over the years. We have no true international stars right now, but constantly produces players that are bought by top clubs in Italy, Spain, Germany, and England. Our national league is stronger than most nations´ of similar size(We´ve got american players too), but there are limits to how much money the sport can genrate in a small country. Though most players are pretty well off, even here, they are attracted by the higher payments abroad. All in all I think we´ve done quite well for a small country.
We also do have a strong and well organized soccer culture filled with younsters who breathe soccer from a very early age. No disrespect again, but when I see the US play it clearly shows that the team as a whole has a somewhat primitive approach to the sport, which I think comes from not being raised in a high standard soccer environment. Soccer isn´t a game where you can pound your chest and say, I´m an american- I got rights, and then win. Soccer is so simple and complicated at the same time, and too unpredictable to be dominated by one nation, like US dominates olympic basketball. Even Brazil can´t be sure of winning every time.
There´s no doubt that the US has plenty of athletic talent, but when it comes to soccer they still lack some finesse and deeper startegic understanding of the game, in general(no offence, even europeans like Norway and Iceland can play ugly). This understanding comes with an organized soccer culture through generations. But until that happens US could take a shortcut and benefit from the experience of others by importing trainers,and even players, for clubs and nationals, from europe and South America. Look at Australia, they are not nearly as talented as the american team, but their trainer is of a totally different caliber than Arena. Sometimes Organization compensates for the lack of talent.
About where to recruit talents, I think that when a kid from Bronx someday turns a star the caliber of fx Ballack or Rooney, the interest will increase, and youngsters will see a way out of the ghetto through soccer, but that requires soccer clubs and facilities are started in low-or-no income areas. The danish welfare system is far too generous to generate a higher interest in sports among poor people, and to be honest I wouldn´t like to speculate in lower social benefits just in order to get more athletes. But danish and american society isn´t the same, and one must relate to that.
I´ll always be backing the danish team, but I just think that a big nation like the US should be a significant member of the soccer family, which is the biggest family in the world.

So those guys all get the benefit of the doubt. Everyone else is off the team after the World Cup – and off the team for good.

I could forgive a lack of skill but effort and grit have always been the something extra for the US – what we saw here was what they are like without it – and it isn’t pretty.

And, lest we think we are alone, Ronaldo, who is clearly far more skillful than any US player can ever dream of being, would also be dropped forever in my book after his performance today. He wasted a potential scoring opportunity because he couldn’t be bothered to run back to get onside – and he did it more than once.