The final was great, but now comes the hard part

The final was great, but now comes the hard part

Published Jul. 2, 2009 12:39 a.m. ET

Just days after a bitter loss to Brazil in their first major FIFA tournament final, there are obvious questions for the USA team as it heads into the Gold Cup and the remainder of World Cup qualification.

Simply put: How can the Americans improve further and demonstrate to their fans — and themselves — that the best moments in South Africa weren't a fluke? Answering that is going to require some soul searching and some hard decisions up and down the line.

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