During international football, squads bear a grueling two-year qualifying progression to reach the World Cup. They travel halfway in the region of the globe to play between 270 and 750 minutes of football. Then, it's over. Of course, there's a hangover.
Five weeks after being bound from the 2010 World Cup by Ghana, the United States Men's National Team sits smack in the center of this period. The 18-man roster called to struggle in a friendly against Brazil at the new Giants Stadium reflects this reality.
The squad is one in transition, a rudderless ship balanced in the calm after a South African storm. Heck, given the irresolute fate of Bob Bradley, they are essentially a side without a coach.
The group of a dozen and a half neither looks back nor steps into the future; it simply exists for this one moment. Fifteen of the 18 players training for the Stars and Stripes represented their country in South Africa -- Jozy Altidore replaced Jermaine Jones who will remain with club side Schalke -- and it's clear the match isn't about moving forward.
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