Stiff Competition

Talk about a schedule of preparation for the World Cup and beyond! If playing against the best is the right path to elevating a national program, consider this:

• Thursday’s match against FIFA No. 5 Brazil will be the sixth time the U.S. has faced a team ranked in the top five since the start of 2007.
  
• Thursday will also be the second time under Bradley that the U.S. has faced teams ranked in the top five in back-to-back games in less than a week. The U.S. lost 1-0 at No. 4 Spain on June 4, 2008, before returning home to draw No. 1 Argentina 0-0 on June 8.
• With its victory today against Iraq, Spain has now gone 34 matches without a loss - one shy of the record set by Brazil - and won 14 straight matches, tying the record set by Australia, Brazil and France
  
• During the two stints under Marcello Lippi, Italy has lost only once in their last 37 matches. That defeat was a 2-0 loss to Brazil this past February