Summer’s over.  And for U.S. supporters, it probably left a bad taste in their mouths.

The past two matches for the Americans have been losses to rival Mexico: a 5-0 embarrassment at the Gold Cup final, and more recently a disappointing 2-1 loss at Estadio Azteca.

Focusing on the more recent of the two, there are some things to be learned from this latest Mexico let down. There are positives, though it may not have seemed that way, that coach Bob Bradley and supporters can take into the rest of qualifying matches.

The young guys can play, and they showed it…yet again.

With Jozy Altidore still trying to settle out his plans for the upcoming season, Bradley gave Charlie Davies the nod. The fans, the smog, the pressure of playing at Azteca did nothing to faze Davies. His goal gave the Americans their first ever lead at Azteca.

Although he did not have a lot of help or good services to him, Davies ran hard all day and was the only consistent threat to the Mexico defense.

He should find his name being called more and more by Bradley, with the speed, pace, and reliability that he can offer.

It was a surprise that he even dressed for the match, but Stuart Holden made good of his opportunity versus Mexico. He was lacking in big-game experience, so finding time on the field here seemed unlikely. However, a stellar Gold Cup performance earned him a trip to Mexico.

With a fairly non-existent offense, besides Davies, Holden came into the match and sparked the dormant U.S. attack. His beautiful cross in the second-half to Davies was mere inches away from possibly putting the U.S. ahead at that point in the match.

He too did not seem fazed by all the distractions and pressures that playing Mexico has to offer. If his play continues at this level, it should be a warning to those patrolling the U.S. midfield that Holden is ready to make an impact on the national stage and possibly at next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

While some of the younger American players flashed a bit of promise and potential, there were still issues with the U.S. side.

And because the point of the game is to score more goals than your opponent, it’s only fair to examine the two Mexico goals first.

Israel Castro’s shot was highlight-reel material; Tim Howard simply was not going to reach it. A shot that arches high, hits the crossbar and drops into the net is almost impossible to stop. Replays would hint that Carlos Bocanegra could have stepped to Castro sooner, but considering the precision of the shot, it’s a wonder whether some added pressure would have made a difference.

The issue lies with how the U.S. defense was unable to properly clear the Mexico offense for the majority of the match. For example, a poor clearance lead to a foul and Mexico free kick. The free kick landed at the feet of Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who fed Israel for the goal.

There were other instances, but the U.S. defense, uncharacteristically, struggled with clearance opportunities all day versus Mexico.

While Mexico did play the better match, the second goal, Miguel Sabah’s was a case of right place, right time. Landon Donovan was beaten badly on the play. Jay DeMerit did what he was supposed to; he helped on the play and got a foot on the ball.

Unfortunately for him and the U.S., the ball landed at the feet of Sabah. And from six yards out, most professionals should be able to finish, and that’s exactly what Sabah did.

The trouble did not stop there. A more prominent issue with Bradley’s squad of late has been the lack of any kind of presence in the midfield.

Mainstay Michael Bradley was nowhere to be found versus Mexico. Ricardo Clark did not seem to be suited up for this one. The U.S. has to find a presence in controlling the defensive midfield, stopping the opponents attack and getting the ball to the playmakers.

With that said, Clint Dempsey regressed to the underachiever seen at the beginning of the Confederations Cup. Donovan, after his assist to Davies, went unnoticed until he was seen trailing Efrain Juarez on the play that led to the go-ahead goal.

He gets a bit of pass here, as he was diagnosed with swine flu after the match. Dempsey’s inconsistency gets no pass though. He is clearly one of Bradley’s best players when he wants to be. Maybe his new contract with Fulham will clear his head, because the U.S. will need him if they want to go anywhere in the next year.

What does all this boil down to? An inability to close out important matches.

This team knows it; they’ve said it before.

So what needs to happen? Will the eventual inclusion of Jermaine Jones fix the defensive midfield issues? Will Dempsey put it together for good and show us the player that won the Bronze ball award in South Africa this summer? Is this the correct mix of defenders going into the rest of qualifying?

In a summer that brought the U.S. to new heights in its own country and across the world, many questions were answered. But there are still many that need explaining.

Make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed to get the latest breaking news and analysis!