Is US soccer gaining respect abroad faster than here in the states?

I want to put this question up for debate. I really expected most of the world to write us off, but it seems that the US is getting near universal praise from countries around the world for how we played the beautiful game this cup. That said, it seems as if fans here in the US are far more critical of the effort and overall less appreciative of what this team has accomplished. Am I way off-base here?

Never in a million years did I expect to see comments like this on foreign websites:

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this is about the US, and they deserve huge credit. They played with intelligence and passion, and three of their four games were among the most dramatic and emotional so far in what has been an unusually dramatic and emotional tournament. There must be millions and kids across the nation who have been smitten with the beautiful game in recent weeks, and that bodes well for the future. I must admit I used to be one of those who thought it was nice to have a major sport that´s not dominated by the US, and as such was indifferent at best to their attempts to become a power in the game, but this World Cup has altered my perception. The Americans now appear to have a football culture that takes the best from those that influenced it, but that is still uniquely their own, and that should be viewed as a welcome development.

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Still so, so proud of our team and how hard we fought for every minute of the entire tournament. No doubt they have made countless people new lifelong fans of the beautiful game. They deserve all of the respect and praise they're receiving, and I have nothing but high hopes for the future and look forward to the continued growth of this fantastic sport in our awesome country.