Mike Ryan

Good morning, USA.

It is a terrific morning to be an American soccer fan or a soccer fan in general.

The World Cup so far has been inspiring, and that is a key word.

Inspiration.

I woke up today really proud.

Proud to be an American, which is, you know, these days a fleeting feeling sometimes, but also proud to be a devoted U.S.

soccer fan.

And all the years...

All the heartache, all the hope, all the disappointment for one magical evening in Los Angeles.

All of that seemed worth it as the U.S.

men's national team put in an inspired performance against Badawai.

The U.S.

were aggressive in their attack, but they were also intentional defensively.

You know, we've had a lot of managers come and go and try to change the culture around U.S.

soccer, going from a counterattacking nation to a national side that would take the fight to you with mixed results.

And sometimes we'd run against a team that plays a lot like Badawai and it wouldn't go our way.

This was an intentional, direct attack from the UN's men's national team.

In previous years, you'd see them pass the ball horizontally, try to get somebody by the touchline, make a deep run and whipping across with very little aim or intention.

Last night, they trusted their playmakers to take on defenders, sometimes multiple defenders.

I'm a big believer that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and the U.S.