Oguchi Onyewe of the U.S.
This has to be one of the bigger sports upsets in a while: The U.S. men’s soccer team beat Spain, 2-0, to reach the finals of the Confederation Cup in South Africa. How dominant had Spain been?
It was the first defeat in 35 internationals for the European champions, a run stretching back to November 2006. It also ended Spain’s world record of 15 successive wins.
I am bummed that I forgot the game was on, so would love to hear from people who did watch it about the type of win it was and what it says (if anything) about the U.S. chances leading up to the 2010 World Cup.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 4:56 PM
The game was absolutely one of the best the USA has played in a while. Their defense was outstanding. Spain outshot the USA 29-9. DeMerit, Onyewu and Howard were MVP. Spain had the bulk of the possession, but the USA played one of their most physical games. Excellent game. Hopefully the USA can build on their momentum and take it through the rest of qualifying and into the World Cup. I’d like to see them play like this at Azteca.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Two to nil!! Somone won some big bucks in Vegas on this one!!!
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Stunning! I had to switch to a porn video to calm down after they went up 2-0.
Tracy is right about the defense though I would list the players in exact opposite order in importance. Tim Howard played the game of his life. I was surprised they mentioned he was drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters. Don’t think he’ll need that option now if he ever(ton) did. His value may have shot up a bit after this.
Oguchi Onyewu was literall yshowing up everwhere there was a shot on goal or a threat of one. Along with Jay Demerit and Charles Davies, he put on a master class in defense.
Though Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey got the only scores of the game, not enough can be said about the leadership of Landon Donovan. There were at least a couple of plays where they just cound not find him on offense the way he finds them. The guy is a classy player.
On a slight down note, I was disturbed by the spotty play of Jonathan Spector – a few bad throwins and passes – and Carlos Bocanegra does not look back to form yet.
But overall this was one amazing game. Looking forward to Brazil-South Africa tomorrow. No way this team will sneak up on Brazil, assuming Brazil gets by SA as expected.
on Jun 24th, 2009 at 8:41 PM
The defense in the second half looked to this untrained eye to be really great, in terms of stopping some excellent chances by Spain. Maybe there’s some criticism that Spain had those good scoring chances? I don’t know. But the US team came up big regardless.
There should be plenty of coverage on Sportcenter, and I’d imagine some spillover into other news media as the importance of the game becomes appreciated.
on Jun 25th, 2009 at 1:33 AM
A stunning upset of epic proportions which has some calling it “The Miracle on Grass”.
Let’s face it, the US played their hearts out and took full advantage of their chances while Spain struggled and looked a bit sluggish at times. Their defence was a bit suspect and I’d imagine they probably underestimated the Americans from the get go.
Props to the US – for a team that shouldn’t have even made it out of the group stages to now one win away from the Confederations Cup – it’s a proud moment for your country.
As for 2010, this will certainly boost morale and confidence heading into South Africa but the World Cup is a different beast. Teams will be much more focused and games that much harder.
In other words, enjoy this moment but don’t start looking too far ahead just yet.
on Jun 25th, 2009 at 9:30 AM
It was an amazing game…I was watching it at a bar with my boyfriend and a bunch of Spaniards he works with. They had some arrogant comments before the game started, but once Jozy Altidore scored, they were quiet.
The US played with heart and energy…it was one of the best games I’ve seen them play since the 2002 World Cup. Coach Bob Bradley came up with an awesome gameplan that involved taking advantage of Sergio Ramos’s forays forward, and the team executed it flawlessly.
I don’t wanna read too much about 2010 in this, because we’re still a year away. However, if the US can bring this energy to the game in August at the Azteca in Mexico and the rest of their qualifiers, a spot in South Africa will be assured very quickly. If the US plays like this in a year, we could see a repeat of the 2002 run to the quarterfinals.
Congrats to the US team, awesome game, and now we’re playing for our first major trophy