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| June 24, 2006 | Saturday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 27, 1427 |
Despondency sets in after US ouster
WASHINGTON, June 23: Despite a questionable penalty kick awarded to Ghana and the disappointment of having been eliminated from the 2006 World Cup, the US team can only blame itself for the outcome in Germany, leading US dailies said on Friday.
“Bottom line: USA didn't get the job done,” said USA Today, “it failed to come back in a difficult game in a difficult group.”
“So much for the ranking by FIFA ... that put the USA fifth in the world,” said the national daily. “In three games, its players could manage only two goals, one of which the Italians inflicted on themselves.”
“Disputed officiating aside,” said The New York Times, “the United States did not prove that it deserved to advance beyond group play. The familiar qualities of hard work and grit and determination were present, but the proficiency of soccer was deeply lacking.”
“The Americans (0-2-1) won no games, produced one meagre goal of their own and put the ball on target only four times in three matches. Italy put a ball into its own net; otherwise the United States produced as few goals as it did in 1998, when it finished last in the 32-team field,” wrote the Times.
The Washington Post noted the “egregious errors” made in the 3-0 opening match against the Czechs and team captain Claudio Reyna's blunder in the first half Tuesday against Ghana, but focused on coach Bruce Arena's dismissive wave of disgust in the direction of the referee after he called a penalty kick for Ghana.
“The wave served several other purposes too. Goodbye, World Cup. Goodbye, Germany. Goodbye, Claudio Reyna. Goodbye Arena?” added the Post, referring to Reyna's announcement on Friday that his international career is over and the possibility Arena might leave coaching for broadcasting.
“Arena and his players pinned much of the blame on the highly decorated Merk, but also came to the realization that they did not perform nearly well enough to escape the group stage,” said the Post.
The 2006 World Cup, however, had one silver lining for the United States, according to USA Today: “Americans have been watching this soccer tournament in record numbers.”
“If that is all that's happening, it would be significant. Twenty years ago, Americans were barely aware the World Cup even existed.—AFP
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