I don't know squat about soccer, errr, football but get mildly interested every 4 years. Anyway, one of my co-workers is a native German who loves loves this stuff. his comment to me was that the U.S. in now a top tier soccer nation and that the days of the US being considered a 2nd level World Cup. He also agrees that if there was even moderate interest, much less if it got the support of MLB, NFL or NHL, that the US would be a power.
While watching the game (which, by the way was MUCH more entertaining than the England-Brasil match), I was struck by the difference in size between the average American player and the average German player. With the exception of Friedel and Sanneh, the US had no one on the field that matched up physically with the German counterpart. Now, the examples of Pele and Maradona show that the best mid-fielders are short and strong and agile, but in almost all other positions you need people of some size.
The German defenders, wings, and attackers averaged 6 ft 2 in and 195 lbs; they looked like your basic NFL cornerback/ safety/ lanky wide receiver. Or imagine if Ken Griffey Jr. had taken up soccer instead of baseball. By comparison, Landon Donovan is 5'10", 165 lbs; Eddie Pope the same; DeMarcus Beasley is 5'7" 135 lbs, for crying out loud--had he played the Germans would have broken him like a twig.
The challenge for American soccer is to encourage people of moderate size to try out soccer instead of football or basketball.