USA : DARK HORSES or REAL CONTENDERS FOR 2010 WORLD CUP


1986 : failed to qualify for the world cup.
1990 : qualified, but lost all 3 games to czecoslavia, italy and austria.
1994 : being the host, automatically qualified.
           in the group stages draw 1-1 with switzerland. 2-1 win over columbia,despite losing 1-0 to romania, made it  to knock out rounds(1st  tym since 1930. lost 1-0 to eventual champs brazil..

1998 : lost all 3 group matches,2-0 germany,1-2 iran n 0-1 yugoslavia.were 32 nd out of 32 
.
2002 :The United States won the 2002 Gold Cup to set up the team's best performance since 1930...
 in the 2002  World Cup, when the U.S. team reached the quarterfinals. The knockout stage was reached through a 3–2 win over Portugal and a 1–1 tie with co-host and eventual fourth place finisher, South Korea.This set the stage for a Round 2 face-off with familiar continental rivals Mexico. The U.S. emerged victorious in the first World Cup showdown between the two old adversaries, 2–0. The team lost 1–0 to eventual runners-up Germany in the quarterfinals.
The United States followed up this success by winning its third Gold Cup, and second out of three, in 2005.

2006: After finishing top of the CONCACAF qualification tournament, the U.S. was drawn into Group E along with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana. Since three of the teams were ranked in the top 10 of the FIFA World Rankings at the time, it was considered a Group of Death.

The United States opened its tournament with a 0–3 loss to the Czech Republic. The team then drew 1–1 against Italy, the only game which the Italians failed to win before the tournament final against France. The United States was then knocked out of the tournament when beaten 2–1 by Ghana in its final group match.
..now a lot has changed,for startes coach,bruce arena was replaced by Bob Bradley,whose reign began with four wins and one draw in friendlies leading up to the 2007 Gold Cup, hosted by the United States
.
and also a lot of american talent ,both young n established, r playing in top european clubs,which is helps them to gain experience at the highest levels of club and international soccer than at any other time in the team's history..
 and also the recent sucess of confedrations cup, where they reached the finals by defeating spain 2-0,but eventually lost to brazil 3-2...

remarkable performances by clint dempsey and langdon donovan..
makes me think usa has what it takes to lift the world cup,or reach the quater or semi finals of the competition..or will they be knocked out way before that.?