#longlunchbreak

The United States team is in a great position after a draw with Portugal on Sunday. That, however, is small consolation to a very disappointed fan base after the team allowed a goal in the final seconds, preventing a win and an automatic advancement to the round of sixteen.

Under most other circumstances four points after two games would be an incredible achievement in this group for this team. Coming in to the World Cup I don't think anyone would have been too surprised to see the United States not even gain a victory. Now the expectations are higher, typical for American sports culture, and if they somehow don't advance to the elimination rounds there will be a major let down for soccer in this country. It's not often soccer grabs the attention of the nation like this, and to have a deflating exit would be devastating.

But the cup is more than half full and the United States has a very high probability of advancing. If they win or draw versus Germany they will advance, possibly with the top seed from the group. If they lose to Germany it will all come down to goal differential. Ideally Portugal will beat or draw with Ghana, which would almost certainly send the United States through since Portugal is five goals behind them in goal differential. However, if Ghana wins, they are only one goal behind the United States in differential and that could complicate things for advancement. One silly aspect of this is the lack of head-to-head record for tie-breaking. Even though the United States beat Ghana, the Black Stars could sneak past them into the elimination rounds if they end up having the same amount of points and a better goal differential. That makes no sense, they already played a match to decide who the best team was, no tie-breaker should trump that.

Some specific thoughts on the match that was just played.

Michael Bradley may be one of the best players on the United States team and in MLS, but wow has he been terrible. There were clear moments like when he had half an open net to score a goal in the second half and managed to kick the ball right at the only thing that could prevent a goal. Or when he was very weak after being challenged on the last sequence, turning over the ball that led to the run to the other end where Ronaldo did his magic.Bradley has been overall weak on possession and looks so shaky with the ball it will make you cringe. It's hard to blame one player, but if Bradley finishes his plays there would have been a two-goal swing in that match.

The United States should rely more on Fabian Johnson, easily the best player for them yesterday outside of Tim Howard. He carried the ball exceptional well and was able to create so many chances moving up the right side. He changed the dynamic, especially in the second half. I don't think Jozy Altidor will be back for Thursday's match so Jurgen Klinsmann should look to find more players that can feed off of Johnson's strengths.