By Robert Willward
Associated PressJOHANNESBURG ó Bob Bradley was as frustrated as his players that his United States team gave up a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss to Brazil in the Confederations Cup final.
Yet the coach also saw the upside: The Americans’ performance in the 14-day competition was another sign of the remarkable progress his team is making since the disappointment of the 2006 World Cup.
“Progress involves understanding how you play in harder games when they have to play against the best teams,” Bradley said. “Everything gets put under the magnifying glass a little bit more when you’re playing the best teams.
“It’s easy to talk about those things, but it’s important that the players see it for themselves, and I think that’s what’s been happening.”