On Saturday, the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team played Spain in a friendly match.
And by “played” I mean, “got dominated by.” And by “friendly match” I mean “a game where the Spanish controlled everything from start to finish.”
It was beautiful to watch, and Spain’s starting lineup wasn’t at full strength. But as an American, the game was a startling snap back to reality.
Despite losing to Ghana in the first knockout round of the 2010 World Cup, the U.S. was riding high after the competition. The team had won Group C despite a ridiculous amount of bad luck and poor officiating calls and had looked solid against some of the best teams in the world, including England.
More recently the team had several up-and-coming players who played well against Argentina and Paraguay.
But against Spain, the Americans looked like tall boys playing against short men. The team was outclassed on all levels. And all that promising young talent? All they could do was gape as the Spanish players passed the U.S. defense into oblivion.
After last year’s world cup, there was a lot of hope for the future of the national team. On Saturday afternoon, the U.S. learned they still have a long, long road ahead.
