by Greg Seltzer for Soccer365

Once again saddled with an excessive ejection, the U.S. National Team was far more complicit in their own demise against Brazil than they had been against Italy on Monday.

Not only were they shut out for the first time since a scoreless draw with Argentina just over a year ago, the 'Nats hardly troubled the other CONMEBOL superpower until the waning moments. Of course, when there is no attack, there is a whole lot of defending. Against Brazil, even good defending only works for a while and the USMNT fell short of "good" on plenty of occasions.

There were problems, plain to see, all over the field. Too much was asked of a few youngsters, various lanes were consistently wide open to attack, races for a loose ball were all but hopeless, possession was skittish, the team at times looked almost unfit and/or lackadaisical ... I could go on and on. With USMNT fans increasingly calling for coach Bob Bradley's pink slip, the margins for error are vanishing quickly.

Truth is, this same performance against a lesser team would have drawn a few all-time low marks from me. I took no pleasure in what follows.

U.S. PLAYER RATINGS

Tim Howard (6.5) - Though perhaps he stood a little small on the third, it was deflected, so it's hard to gripe. Howard was very sharp coming off his line, and basically did about all he could.

Jonathan Spector (5.5) - Although a little shakier than against Italy, he again was generally able to put pressure on crossers that his opposite did not. Spector also set up the best U.S. chance of the night, but wasn't much of a factor going forward otherwise. The biggest problem he had was allowing Felipe Melo that half-step on the opening goal... which is pretty big. Still, he stayed step-for-step with Robinho in several tricky situations, no small feat.

Jay DeMerit (5.5) - It was another typical JayD show, with plenty of junkyard dog in his fight. Sloppy (or downright absent) midfield play in front of DeMerit saw him outnumbered at pace several times, but he managed several stops out of it. He also tripped over himself once trying to stay in front of Kaka and it was nearly a fateful fall, but I'm thinking that has happened to most defenders.

Oguchi Onyewu (5.5) - There were stretches even he looked shaky, but on this day, that stands to reason. Onyewu had quite a bit to do out there, so I wouldn't say he embarrassed himself in any way, but it was certainly not his optimum showing.

Jonathan Bornstein (4.5) - He did make several strong plays, mostly in the middle-to-late stage in each half, but he again booted balls downfield without discretion, again was timid up the flank and again offered simply too much time and space for flank runners to work. As harmful was Bornstein's ill-conceived move for the ball carrier that left Spector all alone at the back on the second goal. Frankly, I worried this particular assignment was over his level before kickoff, and well... it was.

Sacha Kljestan (4.5) - In fairness, he was being improperly used and the red card was harsh. That being said, his lane has a bit of a swinging gate. Kljestan provided a few bright passing moments, but he was never going to have too much success against Brazil working as a defensive midfielder.

Michael Bradley (5.5) - After a poor opening frame, he rallied to put together a commendable second half performance. It was certainly far more difficult for Brazil to work through his area than that of his partner's. Though the foul call was suspect, it was his bad touch that led to the free kick from which Brazil opened early - even if the player trips on the ball, the little shirt pinch will get you called every time.

DaMarcus Beasley (3.5) - Though he finally started to smooth things out as halftime approached, it was a nightmare opening half hour for a proud player. He showed a lack of focus on the disastrous short corner kick, a lack of decisiveness on the ball and tracked back less effectively than normal. Beasley needs to get back in the club game this season. Both his form and confidence seem at all-time lows.

Clint Dempsey (4.5) - This display was every as bit as dismal as Beasley's for 70 minutes, and then he suddenly became effective. Unlike his opposite winger, Dempsey does not have the excuse of club inactivity. An awful header from a good position on a U.S. corner midway through the first half reinforced the notion that he is tired, and I think it would be a great idea if he was on the sub's bench against Egypt.

Landon Donovan (5) - Until the last 20 minutes, the poster boy made more good plays in his own half than he did in attack. He was easily dispossessed repeatedly in one-on-one situations and wasted a few more restarts - which, when rarely earned, absolutely must cause more trouble.

Josmer Altidore (4.5) - Stranded on an island by the formation and the midfield's refusal to keep possession, this grade really isn't all Jozy's fault. Nevertheless, his touch was troublesome, limiting his influence on the game even further.

Coach Bob Bradley (3) - Okay, I see what you were hoping to do with the formation, but when you're down two after 20 minutes and your front man isn't involved, I think an alteration is in order - it never came. There is also this creeping problem; in the last five games, the U.S. have fallen behind inside of eight minutes three times and allowed a total of six goals over the opening 20 minutes. Why is this team suddenly lacking focus out of the gate? Bradley only began to effectively manage the match after Kljestan was ejected. I still don't believe his job is in danger yet, but events are setting up to where any more World Cup qualifying setbacks will likely place him on the plank.

Subs:

Conor Casey (5.5) - It was another hard-nosed effort from Casey, who had more impact than Altidore in 15 fewer minutes. He nearly scored on a late kissed header that caught the bar and was involved in most of the strong U.S. possessions.

Benny Feilhaber (6) - Once more, we saw glimpses of the vision that most of his teammates lack. Of course, he entered with a man down to play a position that his not his, so he had some defensive issues.

Soccer365 reporter Greg Seltzer blogs daily over at No Short Corners. Questions, comments, kudos or complaints? Email him at greg@noshortcorners.com.

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