USA Soccer has done it. Going into the confederation cup semi finals as absolute underdogs, they came out with a 2-0 victory over world soccer power Spain. Spain came into this game riding a 35 game winning streak, and had not seen much competition in some time. There greatest competition would come, not from one of the world soccer powers, but the greatest world power, the United States.
The match began withSpain controlling possession often, and giving the US not much room to work with. Things were not looking up early as Landon Donovan was booked in the fifth minute after committing a foul. The pace at this point was quite fast and lively. What really stood out was the defense of the United States, as they continually kept Spain out of a rhythm. In the twenty-seventh minute Jozy Altidore received a great feed from Clint Dempsey, while shielding the Spanish defenders, striking it past Casillas for the first goal of the match. The USA would come close to notching another goal in the 36th minute when Donovan attempted a free kick that was nearly headed in by Dempsey. Spain would get a few good looks in the remaining minutes of the first half, but Tim Howard was in the way of all of them.
At halftime it seemed clear that although Spain was controlling the majority of the possession, the United States got great looks, but more importantly ,converted when they needed to. Spain had many missed opportunities, causing them to go into the locker room wondering, “what if?”
The second half began with a flurry of shots from the Spanish attack, however Tim Howard was up to the task of stopping everything that came his way. Spain was coming at the US with speed and intensity, however, Tim Howard would show everyone watching why he is one of the best keepers in the world. From the 60th to the 70th minute the United States seemed to have a very good hold on the match. In the 61st minute Jozy Altidore was robbed of a goal, however this would not be a huge killer because the defense of the red, white, and blue was stellar inside of the 18. In the 74th minute the US found themselves on a fast break down the pitch, with passes from Dempsey to Donovan, eventually leading to a botched through pass by Donovan that would somehow end up on the foot of Dempsey after being touched by US attack men and Spanish defenders. Dempsey would pull a half spin move and pound the ball into the back of the net giving the United States a two to nothing lead in the most improbable of situations.
The last 10 minutes would be as good as the first 80. The United States defense held strong and kept Spain out of the net, despite several good looks. After hearing from critcis and analysts all week that they would not stand a chance, the United States came out and proved everyone wrong. However, the United States does still have one game left to play, and although this win is quite nice, they must keep focused on the task ahead. Their next game will be against either Brazil or South Africa, the winner of that game will be determined on Friday. The Confederations Cup championship will take place on Sunday, in what will likely be a true test to see if the United States win over Spain was not just a fluke. Once again, the United States goal should be to prove everyone wrong.
Filed under: Soccer
