Gold Cup Final: Fiesta Numero Dos

Mexico has laid claim to their second consecutive Gold Cup and finally earned redemption against the U.S. by winning on American soil, beating the U.S. 4-2. For the U.S., the game ran like a poor rollercoaster ride: a nice incline at the start, but then one gradual, disappointing decline for the rest of the game.

The U.S. jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Powder Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan. Freddy Adu, one of the few bright spots emerging from the tournament for the U.S., played well and factored in the first goal, providing an excellent corner kick for Bradley's header. After more frantic action, Donovan found space for a relatively easy strike off a nice feed from Clint Dempsey.

Down early, Mexico had to start taking control, and they did. Pablo Barrera had two impressive one-timer tallies that baffled U.S. goalie Tim Howard. Also contributing to Mexico's scorecard were Andres Guardado and Giovanni dos Santos, who sealed the game with "a real cracker of a goal" as the Brits say. See for yourself:

Two takeaways from that highlight: 1) Tim Howard gets angry. 2) U.S. defending needs to improve. Consistently throughout the game it seemed like U.S. defenders gave Mexican players two yards of space rather than challenging for the ball to keep them off-balance. To me, that's indicative of fearfulness in making a mistake, which is in turn a lack of confidence. Also, what in the hell was Jermaine Jones doing in that highlight?! Good grief.

Also: 3) That shot was filthy.

So, after being outplayed on their home turf, fans and U.S. Soccer officials are now wondering where the team goes from here. It seems that any improvement the men's team was making has stagnated, and Coach Bradley is on a boiling hot seat years away from the next World Cup. Mexico meanwhile moves on to play in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013.