The US-Brazil match was definitely entertaining - six goals, a few flashes of brilliance from the Brazilians and the US actually played nice football at times. And yet, I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I feel about the US performance.

I'm a bit conflicted on my opinion. It's hard to be happy giving up four goals at home and losing by two, but then again there were a lot of things about the way we played that were encouraging.

I hate to be the person that says we should all be happy because we "hung in there" with one of the best teams in the world. That sounds like something we were saying 10 years ago, and I would have been ecstatic back then. But we are now 13 years from World Cup 1994 and what I would consider the true birth of serious football in the US, so part of me thinks we should be further along.

Brazil seemed to coast through the friendly at times, only picking up their level once the US scored. Then again, the US did a fantastic job of closing down space and playing an effective, aggressive style of defense that stifled the Brazilian attack. Michael Bradley specifically did a great job on both sides of the ball, with the exception of his reckless penalty tackle in injury time.

Offensively, we actually tried to play football rather then bunker and counter which was a nice surprise. Again, at times, we looked as good as any team in the world - then at other times, I was left scratching my head as to what exactly players were thinking.

Our second goal was brilliantly executed after a nice string of passes and an excellent finish by Clint Dempsey, but too many times I was left screaming at my computer (there was no TV broadcast here in Finland) after players seemed to spaz out when they got the ball. We were stuck in between moments of composure and moments of fluster.

So you can see the dilemma in deciding exactly how well the US actually played. Should we be happy with just moments of great football or should we be expecting more consistency after 13 years of serious development? I'm stuck in between.

Part of me says we should be able to produce better more often, and then the other half says we're still a developing nation and the football we showed at times gives us hope for the future.

Having said that, I would like to address some of the more obvious flaws the US currently has. First, Bob Bradley is not the man to take us to another level.

Don't get me wrong, he's a good coach and has done reasonably well since taking over, but can anyone really say he has made the US look better then Arena did? If your answer is yes, I'd argue that it is due only to having a deeper talent pool, rather then Bradley helping to develop the squad better.

What Bradley does do well is motivate. He knows how to bring a team together to fight for one another. That's a good trait to have as a coach, but tactically and technically, what is he really doing for us? I see a system and a team that has been playing the same "style" since 2002.

This fascination with overcrowding the midfield at the expense of a striker is a little mind-boggling. Yes, against a team like Brazil, we want to close down space and make the field smaller, but I don't like doing this at the expense of a striker. We certainly don't have a world class striker capable of handling it on his own, so why are we trying?

That brings me straight to the next obvious flaw: we desperately need a striker that can play at consistently at this level. We are desperately missing Brian McBride.

Dempsey has shown he can play and can finish, but he's not a striker. He can play in a withdrawn position, but he cannot play as a target. He's done well, but he's not the answer. Eddie Johnson has not shown to be the answer, and by my word, Josh Wolff is definitely not the answer. So who else is there?

The obvious choice for most would be Jozy Altidore, but he's not ready. I believe he will make the roster for the next World Cup, but he's not the answer right now.

Brian Ching is another candidate. He's made much in the same mold as McBride, but he has never truly shown he can play consistently at the international level. Kenny Cooper is another, but it remains to be seen how he will come back from his injury and he's been called in before. Folks, there's a reason he hasn't been a consistent starter in Dallas.

Anyone else come to mind? A few pop into thought, but none that fits the bill. The fact is that we don't have a international class striker to fill McBride's shoes, and that will prove to be a big obstacle.

This leads into a third problem: we desperately needed a true attacking midfielder yesterday. Bradley and Feilhaber played well, but neither are #10's, and it was obvious that we needed someone to help connect the dots for us. Landon Donovan is clearly the best candidate at this moment in time, so Bradley please play him there!!!!

Yes, Donovan does alright playing wide, but he's not a winger. He's the best player we have at opening up opposing defenses on the dribble or with a pass. He's not ideal of course (Freddy Adu, could you please hurry along the development for us?!), but he's the best we've got.

Lastly, we must also be frighteningly aware of our central defense problems. Four goals allowed, regardless of who we are playing, is a lot to give up. The Gooch/'Los pairing just doesn't seem to be doing it for most people.

Carlos Bocanegra seems to be handling his own, but Oguchi Onyewu gets lost watching the play go by too often. His physical presence gives him tremendous potential, but for me, he doesn't have it upstairs. His ability to read the game is marginal at best, and it was taken advantage of time and time again by the Brazilians (granted, some of those passes by Ronaldinho were incredible). I think its time to give Jay DeMerit a chance.

So after going through the negative, what positives can we take from the match? I'll start with our central midfield pair of Bradley and Feilhaber. Many had been looking forward to the time when these two would make their way into the full squad, and while their inexperience and youth has caused problems, there has been plenty to be excited about.

Bradley reads the game well, tackles like a man and isn't bad in possession. Feilhaber is as cool as a cucumber, even against the likes of Kaká and Ronaldinho. I absolutely love the kid, and not only because he was one of the few that didn't let the occasion rise to his head.

I was also happy with our wing play. We could have done with some better service, but we definitely became dangerous several times through the flank play. Brazil coach Dunga, I'm sure, told his squad to be mindful of Donovan and Da Bease. Yet, despite the extra attention the two received, they played well enough.

But what I was most pleased with was the way they combined with their respective wingbacks. Steve Cherundolo had a few great runs going forward, and he was brilliant on the second goal. Defensively, he was skinned a few times (I'm sure he will want to forget how easily Robinho skipped by him in the first half), but was pretty solid otherwise.

Heath Pearce was a little quieter, but nonetheless, held his side of the field down well and managed to get forward at times, including a thunderous drive that was well saved by Doni.

However, the #1 thing to be happy about was the fact that we actually tried to play football against Brazil. Not many teams try to do that, and at times, the US played sublimely. Defensively, they brought an aggression and grit to their game that helped to throw off Brazil, and offensively, they looked calm and collected with some great passing sequences - we just need to do it more regularly.

So there was good and bad, some great and some 'what the heck was that?'. In the end, I still don't know what to say. I'm most afraid that the bad we showed won't be fixed any time soon, and that can tend to overshadow all the good that I saw.

But hey... that's just my opinion.