When the U.S. Soccer team lost earlier this week to the Czech Republic, I was disappointed. The Americans played lazy and uninspiring soccer. Today's game was a mirror image with the U.S. forcing the action on the Italian side of the pitch, even when they were down 10 men to nine. They still ended up with a 1-1 tie and hope -- as dim as it is -- that they might emerge from group play.

About the U.S. playing down two men, the referee was a joke. Seriously, I wouldn't hire this guy to ref a 5-year-olds AYSO match.

After the match, former national team player Eric Wynalda had this to say on ESPN: "Players win games, coaches lose games, and referees ruin games."

Bingo.