Bradley hails improving USA

USA coach Bob Bradley saw his side throw away a two-goal lead over Brazil in last night’s Confederations Cup final – but then warned the world that his men are becoming genuine contenders on the global stage.

The South Americans were in all sorts of trouble less than half an hour into the final at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park thanks to goals from Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, and went into half-time trailing 2-0.

But Luis Fabiano halved the deficit almost immediately after the break and then drew his side level with 16 minutes to play, before a late header from Lucio broke American hearts.

“The feeling is of great disappointment, but also of great pride. When we get past the disappointment, we know we are making progress,” said Bradley.

“We will learn from these kinds of experiences and these kind of games, but it doesn’t make it any easier on the night.

“It’s been a experience for our team, playing the teams we played and to get to the final.”