Just like you don't want to make too much of a loss in a friendly, you don't want to make too much of a win, either. Congrats, certainly, to the USMNT for beating the Germans, but keep in mind that a) this was Germany's (at best) B-team b) the difference between win and draw was Marc-André Ter-Stegen's bone-headed own goal and c) the U.S. got completely outplayed during the final 20 minutes, as was fortunate to finish with the win.

Certainly, though, this match, coupled with the one against Belgium, gives us a good sense of the team right now.

Jozy Altidore showed the form that had him scoring 23 goals in the Eredivisie this past season. He was excellent. He made a couple of nice runs early--probably should have scored on the Graham Zusi free kick in the 7th minute in which he got in front of the defender but headed well wide. His movement on the first goal to shake Mertesacker was excellent--as of course was the finish. His run and pull-back cross to Dempsey in the 60th was lovely as well. A goal and an assist would normally be a man-of-the-match performance, but

Clint Dempsey was terrific, again. Two goals, both excellent, earns him Man of the Match. He continues to improve, and is easily the U.S.'s best field player right now.

Oh, and by the way, he plays for Tottenham. Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker? Arsenal. Please feel free to suck on that.

Michael Bradley. The team had so much more thrust than they did against Belgium. I used to malign him as "coach's son," but either I was wrong or he's vastly improved (or both). He ties the whole team together. Without him we're far worse.

The defense. Man oh man. It's just a major problem. I don't know what else to say. How many chances did Germany put wide in the first half? How easily did they score in the second? We might be able to get out of CONCACAF with defense this poor, but if we don't have it worked out a year from now, we'll be repeating our performance of 1998 and heading home after three matches. (We might even want to consider reinstating the cardboard cutout of Mike Burns.)

And in light of what I said about DaMarcus Beasley being our top-choice left back, please consider Edgar Castillo. He was utterly and completely outmatched by Sidney Sam, and his non-effort in the 87th minute, when Sam juked him and he literally just stood there, should be enough to get him removed from the team. If there really isn't a better player around to take his spot, well, my point is proven, isn't it?

How well can we expect to fare in the upcoming qualifiers? If Altidore's problem was confidence, you have to hope he put that problem to bed against Germany--he was excellent against an excellent team. Dempsey looks great, and Michael Bradley keeps the whole offense ticking. Against Jamaica, Panama and Honduras, with the latter two games at home, [check this] you'd like to think that the U.S. is good for seven points. But the defense is porous, to say the least. Anything less than five points will have to be considered a disappointment, but with the defense that the U.S. currently has on display, you have to consider that even as few as four could be a real possibility. I'd be shocked if they did worse than that, and if they do they're in real trouble.

I wrote this last week after the match against Belgium, then decided to wait to publish it until after the Germany match in case it ended up looking a bit hysterical. But the Germany match showed that the concerns expressed here were justified. I'll add a little more about U.S.-Germany later.

On the one hand, you don't want to make a bigger deal over it than it is: it was just a friendly, against a Belgium team that is substantially stronger than any of the USMNT's upcoming opponents. It was also the USMNT's first time playing together since the 0-0 draw in Mexico on March 26th. The European-based players have just finished up their long club seasons and are a little fried. They have another friendly on Sunday. Their first upcoming qualifier, at Jamaica, is still a week away. There's still time to get a bit better prepared.

On the other hand, you don't want to downplay it, either. Yes, Belgium are very strong, but the game was really more lopsided than the score even showed. Given that the US's second goal was off a questionable penalty, and that a penalty should have been given for DaMarcus Beasley's first-half hand-ball, the scoreline could well have been 1-5, and legitimately so.

Yes, it was just a friendly, an opportunity to test out some players and tactics and to tune things up. The intensity of a full World Cup qualifier just isn't there on the part of either team. You don't want to jump to rash conclusions.

With that in mind, there were some worrisome aspects on display. The single most damning part of the match occurred during the first 15 minutes of the second half. During that time, Belgium really turned up the heat, looking for their second goal, and during those 15 minutes, they looked by far the superior team. The goal looked pretty much inevitable.

Yes, it was just a friendly. But based on the evidence on display on Wednesday night, we simply aren't competitive with the top teams in the world. And wasn't Klinsmann brought in to make us exactly that?

Am I about to suggest that maybe Klinsmann wasn't such a good hire, and maybe it's time to look for a replacement? No, I'm not. First of all, because Klinsmann's job should be secure until such time as it looks like the MNT is in serious danger of missing the World Cup--and since they are currently in third in the hexagonal, a single point behind Panama and behind Costa Rica only on goal differential, it's a little early to get hysterical. But more importantly, because I don't see what Klinsmann is doing wrong. And it is that, more than anything, that as me concerned about the future of the MNT.

Klinsmann was brought in to make us competitive with the top teams in the world, but he was also brought in to establish a better foundation for the team, in the vein of what's been done in Germany. Germany's last generation got all the way to the final of the 2002 World Cup; it's hard to say they were unsuccessful. But the team we've seen since 2006 has been a team reimagined and reborn. Previously, Germany was built around strong defending, physical presence, and dominance on set pieces. The Germany team currently on display, on the other hand, is playing the best and most beautiful attacking soccer of any national team in the world with the exception of Spain. And the development system that's so elevated the German national team is bearing fruit down at the club level as well, as this year's Champions League so clearly showed.

So is the USMNT developing in a similar fashion? There are two salient details in answer to that question, and both involve Beasley at right back. The first detail is that he's playing there. He started in that role against Costa Rica and Mexico as well, so it's safe to assume that he's the current top choice. Beasley is 31 years old, now on the downslope of his career. He is a converted left wing. He is working hard and his defense is improving, but after Wednesday night, would you say you are comfortable with him in this role? Did he look comfortable? No, he did not. He looked like a stopgap.

The second detail, and far more worrying, is that no one seems to be suggesting who else could be playing there. The USMNT relying on a stopgap converted left wing is one thing; that he appears to actually be the best choice is another.

And so it is in exactly this area that I'm most concerned. Among the defense, Geoff Cameron was the only player considered second-choice. He looked poor on multiple occasions. But okay, maybe whoever ends up there will do better. But Clarence Goodsen and Omar Gonzalez are considered the top center-back pair, and the defense as a whole looked completely overmatched, unsure of how to play together, and not really very competent. During that 15-minute stretch when Belgium brought the heat, it appeared that the U.S. had no answer.

The defense was the weakest part of the squad, sure, but was there a place where the team looked solid? Sacha Kljestan and Jermaine Jones were competent. Jozy Altidore moved well and looked okay, but as everyone has pointed out, given the 23 goals he scored for Alkmaar in the Eredivisie this season, he looked tight and lacking in confidence when he received the cross from Dempsey in the 5th minute and didn't try to one-time it. Graham Zusi? Competent. Brad Davis? Competent--but, like, Beasley, 31 years old. Is he really the top left-wing the U.S. can field right now?

It was only a friendly. Part of the point is to give players a chance against actual opponents in an actual competitive match. The idea is to show us where we're strong and where we need work. But you hope to see something you can build on. Right now our strength appears to be Clint Dempsey and our goalkeepers. We're struggling everywhere else.