At Confed Cup (1999) and World Cup, BA had the advantage of low expectations, and being underdog (for the most part)....does it matter that US is now a better known commodity, and that other teams likely won't take US lightly? Was a part of US past success due to this (I think some part was) (On the positive side) I think big summer tourneys will always work well for US since they should be fresh(er) than other teams squads, who are chock full of Euro players who are (still) a bit beat up...since the game is more athletic/speed oriented than ever, this advantage should not be discounted..
IMO after a couple more famous wins, we will no longer be an underdog to european and south american teams/fans - when these nations start circling us on their calendar, the teams will come hard jack - we are already arguably the 3rd best side on the hemisphere - what does that mean? it means we need to raise our game another notch very soon - it probably also means that the US will have one more short period of struggle before we become a reliable contender for cups from a worldwide point of view
Really- issue is: How often can US play like they did vs. Germany (entire/most of game SOLID) vs. Portugal (flurry of goals at beginning, but Portugal controled match last 60 minutes or so (chances).. I think it is unrealistic to think US has many Portugal's in it (3 goals in first 30 min.)....more likely, US will be playing in tight affairs in which the pressure is on most of match (Germany)...such affairs really show the quality of side... There is no question that the US is improved (combination of factors- including coaching upgrade), but soccer is often a game of one play or two- and I think against Portugal, being "disrespected" helped contribute to the fast start. Portugal had lazy tactics, and players that didn't kick it in gear until too late. I think US will have to be prepared for sides to be ready from FIRST minute now.. US should/is upgrading talent-wise every year, but there are still integration issues (with each upgrade)...so far, Bruce has done as well as most coaches managing those- I thing, I think American player has less ego than players in most other countries, and that helps the effort tremendously. This is going to be the best test yet, IMO, even better than WC- to see where US is "really" at...