A second viewing now in the wind, it's time for a slightly belated report card on the 'Nats performance against Brazil on Sunday. Sorry for the delay, but I forgot TiVo was at my disposal before heading to the stadium and had to scramble for a video.

The US showing was passable considering the mighty foe, but not quite amazing. Sure, they could have received as much respect from the ref as Brazil got (I have now decided to call Kaka "Sweetness" because his Soldier Field stiff arms while carrying the ball were every bit as fierce as those of the late, great Walter Payton), but a few of their mistakes would be lamentable against any team.

Despite the high degree of difficulty, no one claimed better than an average grade and a few guys were sharply disappointing. In any event, let us not stand on ceremony...

US Player Ratings
Tim Howard (5.5) - The Everton keeper made a few good stops and distributed well, but he should have done better on Lucio's tight angle corner kick goal and failed to get a good look at Ronaldinho's winner, which practically went in through his hands. I did cut him a little slack for finishing the game with a bum finger on one hand.

Steve Cherundolo (6) - Though he did have some early trouble dealing with slip passes on his side, Cherundolo rallied to have a decent outing. He stayed with the insistent dribbling of Kaka well, and was absolutely perfect with his run timing and cut back pass on the Dempsey equalizer.

Oguchi Onyewu (5) - Gooch continued a string of less than desirable performances on Sunday. He fared well in traffic and in situation where he could pressure ball carriers above the area, but was beaten badly twice over the top by Ronaldinho lobs and simply has to do better controlling the carom on his own goal.

Carlos Bocanegra (6) - 'Los scored an admittedly fortunate goal, stood up bravely to Brazilian trickery and got jobbed on the call that led to the winning free kick. That all being said, he could have held tighter offside lines to help his being partners. All in all, it was a solid showing for the captain.

Heath Pearce (6) - Once again, he didn't thrill - but, after all, we were facing Brazil. Perhaps safer was better on this day, but Pearce still got forward to blast on goal from distance on the Wolff "non-penalty" and often stepped forward to pressure dribblers early. He only bought on two give-and-go's (an impressive stat considering the opponent), which could help explain why both Kaka and Robinho seemed to prefer working the other side for most of the final hour. Definitely enough shown to warrant further looks.

Michael Bradley (6) - My clear US Man of the Match until a somewhat harsh penalty call in added time dropped his score a half-point. The coach's son repeatedly made Ronaldinho stop, turn, pass back, pass square, pass badly or plain turn the ball over, In addition, he rarely coughed up the rock and darn near scored a 3-3 equalizer with an off-balance long range drive. The few remaining nepotism whiners need to reconsider their jabs quickly or risk looking like complete boobs.

Benny Feilhaber (5.5) - I really shouldn't complain about the fact that he had a devil of a time defending against the Samba Kings because he is so clearly not a defensive midfielder. His possession work was fine, but the clever passing game I expect was largely absent. As coach Bradley noted, Feilhaber needs some match work with his club to return to top form/fitness. Seriously though, when will one of these high paid coaches figure out that Benny should be fielded as a #10, where his defensive holes aren't so noticeable? Consider my mind boggled.

Landon Donovan (5) - Yes, he did well defensively, and yes, his pass to spring Cherundolo into the area was classy, but he largely was disappointing on a day we needed him to be a star. As often is the case, his restarts were abysmal - the assist on Bocanegra's goal should have gone to the handshaking Brazilians that allowed the bouncing serve past them. Give me a damn shirt, I can at least put my free/corner kicks over the first defender. Most annoying, however, was what seemed to be a stunning lack of effort when the US was moving forward. I mean, coach Bradley wouldn't intentionally have Donovan hang back... would he? After one incident of apparent rush-harming weak side slack, I shouted 'Can I get you a chair?' at him.

DaMarcus Beasley (5.5) - Much like Pearce, his was a steady performance with few big highlights and few glaring mistakes. As with Donovan, it would have been nice if one of our poster boys supplied a few "WOW!" moments. Still, the effort was definitely there and he did it from three positions (central midfield? really, coach?).

Josh Wolff (5.5) - Though often hampered by a lack of support when he got wide, Wolff failed to provide much more than the appearance of danger. Loaded with tactical savvy, he falls short for end product when the opponent is as tough as Brazil. Nevertheless, he hustled to Pearce's rebound and easily deserved a penalty call.

Clint Dempsey (6) - Though absolutely not an international-caliber target man, Deuce certainly didn't let on. He battled hard in the air and finished his chance ably. Another "effort counts" guy, I still wish he'd occasionally temper his big time confidence at the right time. After amazingly winning a battle against three Brazilians while seated on the ground, it would have been nice if he'd slipped Beasley in alone instead of wildly and hurriedly firing into the stands.

Coach Bob Bradley (5.5) - Even though he should have gone to the bench sooner, it would be hard to quibble with the spirit displayed by his men or his basic game plan. I could pick a few long-standing nits, but why bother after an admirable show against the #1 team on the planet? Well... I will belabor my favorite continuing gripe: ENOUGH EMPTY BUCKET MIDFIELD ALREADY!!!

Subs:

Bobby Convey (4.5) - It's a shame Convey waited so long to do something with the one breakout he led, or we could have had a different ending. He clearly needs more time to shake off the cobwebs after a long injury lay-off.

Eddie Johnson (6) - The Wizards enigma elicited no confusion on Sunday, immediately entering the game with verve to burn. After watching him execute a handful of fine touches and off-the-ball runs, I rued that he was kept warming on the sideline so long.

Davy Arnaud (6) - He only had a few minutes of action, but shrewdly won a corner kick and served a long, driven "cut back" with aplomb. Frankly, I wish he'd been brought onto replace Donovan much earlier. Also factoring in his hard work in training all week, let's hope this isn't the last we see of him.