JOHANNESBURG — The U.S. soccer team finished ahead of England in the group stage of the World Cup, played compelling matches and attracted record TV audiences back home.
But after losing to Ghana in the round of 16, there was disappointment in the U.S. delegation, and according to U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, “It was an opportunity missed — a game we could have won and probably feel we should have won. It was all in front of us. We started dreaming after the first round.”
Making his first comments since the Americans’ elimination Saturday, Gulati said: “The team is capable of more. I think the players know it. I think (coach Bob Bradley) knows it.”
With the team having fallen short of his expectations, Gulati will have to decide whether to offer Bradley a four-year contract for the next World Cup cycle. His current deal expires Dec. 31.
France’s boss bowing out.
French Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said he will quit Friday after France’s World Cup fiasco.
There were open conflicts between the squad and team management. France’s players boycotted a training session in protest of Nicolas Anelka being thrown off the squad after an expletive- filled tirade directed at coach Raymond Domenech.
Capello’s fate uncertain.
England’s Football Association told Fabio Capello it will take two weeks to decide whether to retain him as coach of the national team, which exited the second round with a 4-1 loss to Germany, its most lopsided defeat at a World Cup.
Footnotes.
Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan injured an ankle while training for a quarterfinal match against Uruguay, but he is expected to play Friday.
• Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz hinted that midfielder Deco (hip) will be available for his team’s match against Spain today.
• The U.S. team’s 2-1 loss to Ghana on Saturday was the most-watched soccer game in American television history, according to Nielsen Co. The game drew 19.4 million viewers in the U.S.
Denver Post wire services
