USMNT: The Ugly Draw 

A crushing cross reveals the beauty of football

The USMNT dropped their guard for 8 seconds. That was the time it took for a turnover at midfield to end up in the back of the American net. 8 seconds from 3 points to 1. 8 seconds for a hail mary pass to a hail mary cross to a perfect header through Howard to the back of the net.

Those 8 seconds resulted in a USMNT 2-2 draw with Portugal. 8 seconds for a last minute, gut-wrenching, mind-blowing cross from Ronaldo that I knew was in before it even made contact with Varela’s head. It was absolutely crushing. Anyone rooting for the USMNT during that game was destroyed in an instant. Even non-football fans, those temporary front-running Americans haphazardly watching the USMNT understood the devastation of Ronaldo’s assist.

That final goal hopefully only temporarily prevented the USMNT from clinching group advancement, instead forcing them to play for a draw or a win on Thursday against Germany. Germany will present a very difficult challenge; however, the odds are still in favor of the USMNT advancing to the knockout stage of the World Cup.

But that sequence was devastatingly gorgeous. It was a perfect cross in the dying seconds of stoppage time. It provided a glimpse of the true beauty of football. The USMNT, simply trying to maintain possession and drain the clock, turned the ball over and the result was simply breathtaking brilliant football resulting in a crushing goal.

I cannot overlook the true excellence involved in that short sequence. A forced error at midfield. A long ball to Ronaldo on the right wing. A few dribbles and a striking cross to a streaking Valera. As the play began to unfold, the ball finding Ronaldo’s foot, you could feel something happening. You knew the USMNT was in trouble. The game’s final seconds were elapsing and all I could think was “No.”

I gasped. I stood. I threw my hands in the air. I said something, but I cannot remember what. All of this happened as Ronaldo’s pass curled into the box. I could see what was happening, helpless to do anything but understand the pending result. Even Howard looked in disbelief of what was happening in front of him. He seemed unable to process how this could be happening right in front of him, nearly helpless to prevent it. He threw his hands in the air (like me), but to no avail. The perfect cross completed with a devastating header driven to the back of the net.

It was an amazing goal. Not the goal of the tournament; that award (so far) goes to van Persie (the Flying Dutchman). But this goal summed up the beauty of football for the American populace. It was a turnover, possession, a great pass (or two), and solid contact in the box. It is a simple as that, yet so complicated that it escapes most players most of the time.

Football is a simple game. Put the ball in the goal without using your hands. A simple task that can be amazingly difficult when you put 22 players on the field. But in those 8 seconds, everything came together to crush the hopes (temporarily I hope) of the USMNT. But damnit, it was pretty, and I cannot stop watching it.