Gold Cup Final - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

A great performance by the National Team in an engaging and well-played final. Though it was hardly a home game for the US, the partisan crowd created an electric atmosphere. And despite the fact that Soldier Field looks like a spaceship eating the Parthenon, it is a great venue for a soccer game.

OK right to it:

THE GOOD:

• Benny Feilhaber's Goal -- Without digging too deeply into the memory banks, I can't remember a higher quality strike since maybe Jovan Kirovski's rocket in a friendly against Germany in the late 90s. As I've said before, the kid is dripping with class and it is hard to imagine a better feeling than launching a thunderbolt to win a final in your first senior team competitive final.

• While I know it was a quiet performance until his injury, Jonathan Spector continues to impress--so confident and composed on the ball and he reads the game very well. I initially blamed him for being out of place on the first goal, but reviewing the play, he was sliding over to mark Blanco for a slow-to-recover Bocanegra. He made the right decision to address the more immediate threat, and couldn't do anything to stop the magical play by Castillo.

• Speaking of which, Nery Castillo mesmerized the spectators and anyone marking him today. He sliced through the US team on several occasions with remarkable pace and close control. A special player.

• Carlos Batres and his officiating crew deserve considerable praise. Excellent officiating is required for an excellent game and this crew kept control of an emotionally charged final but still let the men settle the game on the pitch. They called more bookings against the US and over twice as many fouls, but they accurately called the game while allowing for physical play by both sides. Bravo.

The BAD:

• The USMNT new penchant for turning easy wins into nailbiters. In the worst examples, Ching and Beasley faced open goalmouths and spurned chances in which missing the back of the net carried a high degree of difficulty. For so long in this game, a well-organized Mexico defense and the freakishly athletic Oswaldo Sanchez made the US team work hard for any chances. Given a chance to finish off the game, they were woeful in front of the goal. Speaking of which...

• I know he wasn't in the game very long, but I'd like to ask again why the farce that is Taylor Twellman's National team career cannot be mercifully ended. Unless the USMNT is going to be playing (a) vastly weaker competition, (b) the Colorado Rapids, or (c) Norway, he's not helpful. Short, wasteful, and usually physically overmatched.
  

THE UGLY:

• Injuries to Mexican Players - Obviously everyone's prayers should be with Jose Andres Guardado and his family. Moreover, if anything spoils the win, it is the injury to Jared Borgetti; while Oscar Bravo played well in his stead, Borgetti is a talismanic player for El Tri and it would have been good to have seen him finish the match.

• Hugo Sanchez and Cuauhtemoc Blanco's post-game antics. Sorry to be harsh here, but this just solidifies the reputation of two classless, washed-up jokes. Blanco has made a career of being a jerk to officials (and teammates, and reporters, and coaches...). And while I understand Sanchez has to be stressed as he waits for a slip of paper roughly the same shade as his polo shirt, he sullied the ending to a fine game by harassing a fine officiating crew. Good riddance.

A final to remember and an promising tournament for this transitional USMNT. Copa America will prove a much starker challenge, but for today, it is a result that re-asserts the US team's regional dominance.