Face it, America: The U.S. men's soccer team is pretty bad

An undeserved win has prompted a heaping of undeserved praise

Clint Dempsey
(Image credit: (Michael Steele/Getty Images))

After an extraordinary start, the World Cup saw its first day of truly mediocre soccer on Monday. It is no coincidence that Monday also saw the debut of the U.S. men's team.

Don't get me wrong. The U.S.'s 2-1 victory over Ghana was about as dramatic as they come, a fitting chapter in what has turned out to be an improbable rivalry stretching over three World Cups. Clint Dempsey scored a fine goal in the first minute, before powering through a broken nose to complete the game. John Brooks came off the bench to score the winning header just moments before the final whistle, lifting the spirit of a team that had been battered like a punching bag for a solid 80 minutes.

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Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.