Dutch Down U.S. in Amsterdam

During the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, the performances by the U.S. National Team, most of the time, lies in the eye of the beholder.

Wednesday against the Netherlands, in the last scheduled match before Bob Bradley must submit his final 23-man roster for the World Cup, the glass ended up being a lot more empty than full for the Yanks at the Amsterdam ArenA.

Outside of an inspired, frantic comeback in the final six or seven minutes, the U.S. was thoroughly dominated by the No. 3 team in the world during a 2-1 loss.

In the final audition for players to make their case for inclusion on the plane to South Africa, few Americans shined, as the Dutch kept and caressed the ball for most of the match like a 10-year-old girl with her favorite dolly.

It couldn't have been a worse start for the U.S., either.

Just after the half hour mark, Stuart Holden limped off the field following a crunching ankle tackle from Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong. Holden was taken to a nearby hospital for X-rays as a precaution. DaMarcus Beasley replaced Holden, and ended up perhaps logging the best performance by an American on the night.

Five minutes after the Holden injury, the Dutch broke the deadlock when Jonathan Bornstein unnecessarily pulled down Wesley Sneijder inside the box from behind for a penalty. Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt converted from the spot, sending Tim Howard the wrong way to make it 1-0 in the 40th.

The U.S. was lucky to head into the break only down 1-0, since Bornstein appeared to handle the ball inside the box on a different play, but didn't get whistled for it.

All match it appeared the Dutch game plan was to use wingers Arjen Robben, and later Eljero Elia, to attack Bornstein at left back.

The Dutch dominance continued into the second half, as they passed and prodded the U.S. defense, finally gaining a well-deserved 2-0 lead when Klass-Jan Huntelaar's shot from outside the top of the penalty area took a deflection off Bornstein and into the net.

From there the Dutch seemed to take the foot off the gas a little bit, trying to score an incredible goal with all sort of back heels and tricks. Rafael Van der Vaart nearly made it 3-0 with a wickedly hit shot from outside the area that Howard dove to make an excellent save.

That save proved important since the U.S. did stage a late rally in the final five minutes and stoppage time.

Carlos Bocanegra pulled a goal back when his unmarked header from a free kick delivered by Beasley beat Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg in the 89th minute.

The U.S. weren't done. Alejandro Bedoya was tripped on the edge of the area, initially looking like it might be a penalty kick. Instead it was a free kick, which Beasley fired right into the gut of Stekelenburg. Jozy Altidore, too, had a chance to level the game, with a late rocket that forced the Ajax-keeper into a full stretch save. Clarence Goodson also had a chance from a late U.S. corner, but his overhead kick flew over the bar.

But the final 10 minutes did little to mask the rest of the match, where the U.S. were on the backfoot at almost all times.

All-time leading scorer Landon Donovan, fresh off his incredible spell at Everton, barely saw the ball either at left midfield and later at forward.

Altidore's starting forward partner -- Robbie Findley -- also did little to distinguish himself. Jose Franciso Torres, another fringe U.S. roster player, didn't do much aside from one nice long-range attempt until being subbed off after the half for Maurice Edu.

Overall, besides Michael Bradley, in spurts, few U.S. players could say they actually had what you'd called a "plus" game.

On the positive side, the U.S. did show its resilience and ability to compete until the final whistle, but that was little more than a consolation prize.

If anything, the match confirmed the precious state of the U.S. roster and how little depth it includes. The health of injured stars Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu and Charlie Davies was only confirmed by the 90 minutes in Amsterdam, since the U.S. forward line looked either invisible or unsure of itself.

As doomy and gloomy as Wednesday's result ended up, if there's another silver lining, it's that a friendly in March doesn't mean anything when the ball is kicked off June 12 in Rustenberg against England.