This is how Rafael Van der Vaart, the Netherlands midfielder, described the U.S. men's team after Wednesday's friendly in Amsterdam:
"A robust side, but not great in terms of quality," he said, in Dutch. "Hard to play against, though. They played compact, we had trouble getting through. Soccer-wise, they're not great, but they're hard to beat."
Should these comments cause affront to American fans or are they, in fact, a backhanded compliment? I tend to lean toward the latter viewpoint and think that it does no harm to the U.S.'s reputation if the squad is known as an opponent that, no matter how well it may be playing, is always a tough nut to crack.
The Netherlands game was a case in point. It wasn't pretty and there are many areas in which improvements can be made, but it is of some comfort that Bob Bradley's side hung in there against a side that won all eight of its World Cup qualifiers and has been beaten only once at home since 2005 -- a span of 25 games.
Now, having established itself as a hard-to-beat opponent, can the U.S. kick on to compete at soccer's top table, so that results such as last year's Confederations Cup semifinal win against Spain are seen less as flukes and more as the norm?
Work to do
Alexi Lalas' comments at the end of the game were spot-on when he said the final 15 minutes shouldn't mask the Americans' overall performance. The Netherlands had taken its foot off the gas as it rang the changes, and the withdrawals of Nigel De Jong and Mark Van Bommel opened previously unavailable space in midfield.
That said, although there were plenty of negatives, there also were some positive aspects to the U.S.'s display. Defensively, Jay DeMerit's return was a plus and, further forward, Michael Bradley put in a good shift against accomplished opponents. DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu were solid off the bench. Up front, Jozy Altidore was a willing runner, though he received little support.
Such help in the attacking third should come from Clint Dempsey, one of a number of key men who have to be healthy if the U.S. is to do anything of note this summer. The Fulham man could be back in action in the next couple of weeks, and his return may be followed swiftly by that of Oguchi Onyewu -- although playing time with AC Milan may be an issue for the defender.
Of course, the positive news -- which also features Charlie Davies, Steve Cherundolo and Ricardo Clark -- has been offset by another negative blow, this time to Stuart Holden. American fans may be forgiven for wondering what they have done to offend Lady Luck, who continues to be a cruel mistress.
Group C watch
England: beat Egypt 3-1
The final score looks comfortable, but this was no walkover at Wembley for England. As the hosts struggled for ideas, Africa's champion excelled in the first half and was deserving of the lead given to it by Mohammed Zidan's cool finish.
Fabio Capello shook things up at the interval, and whatever he said had the desired effect, as England upped the tempo to eventually overrun the Pharaohs. Substitute Peter Crouch scored twice and generally provided a more suitable foil up front to Wayne Rooney than had Jermain Defoe earlier.
Meanwhile, another replacement, Shaun Wright-Phillips, also netted and was more effective than one of his rivals for a seat on the plane to South Africa, Theo Walcott.
Slovenia: beat Qatar 4-1
A comfortable win over an opponent ranked 92nd in the world was probably the least anyone expected, so in that respect this was a useful run-out for Slovenia.
Beyond that, it's hard to read too much into the display of Matjaz Kek's men, who cruised to a 3-0 lead after 34 minutes. Among the scorers was Milivoje Novakovic, who notched five goals during World Cup qualifying and, at 6-foot-4, is sure to prove a handful for any defense.
Algeria: lost to Serbia 3-0
A full house was on hand in Algiers to celebrate the nation's first World Cup qualification in 24 years, but the pageantry that preceded the game was contrasted by the disappointing display that followed.
Serbia took the lead after Algerian goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui missed a left-wing cross, and it added two more goals in the second half. At the other end, the Desert Foxes' attacking woes continued. This was the fifth time in seven games that Rabah Saadane's side had failed to score.