The American dream, or the Mexican nightmare depending on how you look at it, finally came to a halt early Friday morning thanks to the head of Germany’s Max Ballack.

The United States, after a spirited run to the quarterfinals of the world’s biggest sporting event, finally succumbed to an opponent it had no business beating in the eyes of the international futbol community.

Hell, the team shouldn’t have even been out on the same field as the bigger, better, more seasoned German national team. And if you talk to any Mexicans, they should have been at home by then.

But there they were. Playing hard, standing up and playing good old American-style futbol.

Now if that last statement doesn’t scream out “what are you talking about Willis?” then I’ll be Gary Coleman’s uncle.

Well, I’m not Coleman’s uncle and this is not the same American team that got throttled by Germany 2-0 in France in the 1998 World Cup and was sent packing as the worst of all 32 teams.

This team actually outplayed the Germans and controlled the pace for most of the match. Running a 3-5-2 formation, U.S. coach Bruce Arena played his best 10 in front of goalkeeper and rising star Brad Freidel.

The Germans, who did well to stay in the game and seize one of only a handful of opportunities given to them by the Americans, clearly were lucky to advance to the semifinals where they will play co-host South Korea on June 25.

So what does this all mean in the grand scheme of things for American soccer? What does this mean to the individual players on the U.S. side who made the nation’s best run at the cup since 1930.

Well, first it means that years of youth soccer and the development of a professional league are finally starting to pay dividends. Major League Soccer, although not quite in the same category as the German Bundesliga or the English Premier League, is establishing itself as a fine middle class arena to showcase and develop talent.

Many of the team’s players hail from the league with the San Jose Earthquake’s Landon Donovan, only 20, leading the way.

When the United States lost to Germany 2-0 in 1998, midfielder Frankie Hejduk landed a job with German club for his excellent speed on the wing.

This run surely opened the eyes of Europe’s finest clubs and the efforts of America’s young and budding soccer stars should result in higher interest from abroad. That means more money for players and even more experience for a team bent on making more than just a knock at the door when World Cup 2006 rolls out in Germany.

The Americans have arrived on the soccer stage and not a millennium too late for those who have fought hard to re-establish soccer prowess in this country.

The next step undoubtedly will be even tougher – making progress is one thing, maintaining is quite another. But with young stars and great leadership this team has a bright future and the World Cup has gained another worthy suitor.