Spring Break
Confederations Cup run provides glimpse of future
U.S. National team falls in programs first FIFA final
Hart Holloman
Issue date: 7/1/09 Section: Sports
And then something happened.
With their chances of advancing so slim, (The U.S. needed to beat Egypt 3-0 and have Brazil beat Italy 3-0) the U.S. came out relaxed and Charlie Davies put them in front with a scrappy goal that lead to a 1-0 halftime lead.
In the locker rooms, they were informed that Brazil had gone up 3-0 to Italy, and with the reality of advancement in their grasp they came out firing in the second half.
Michael Bradley scored after playing a very slick give and go with Donovan and a late Clint Dempsey strike put the Yanks through as Brazil held their 3-0 advantage over Italy.
And what did the U.S. get for their troubles, a match-up with the No. 1 ranked team in the world Spain in the semi-finals.
The U.S. was again given little chance against La Furia Roja, but they came out with fire and aggression and it paid off when Altidore put a screamer off the arm of Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The U.S. defense absorbed wave after wave of Spanish attacks before Dempsey added another late to put the US into the finals for the first time in FIFA tournament.
After the game, Michael Bradley hit back at the critics saying, "All the critics and analysts back home that think they known about soccer don't known what goes inside this team. We know what we are capable of and we showed it tonight."
They would meet Brazil after a late free kick from Daniel Alves lifted them over host nation South Africa in the other semi-final.
In the final the U.S. again took control of the game when Dempsey steered in a Jonathan Spector cross, and then Donovan put them up by two after finishing off a Brazilian-esque counter-attack.
But it was not to be for the Americans, and after two Luis Fabiano goals pulled Brazil level, captain Lucio put a late header past U.S. keeper Tim Howard and Brazil lifted the Confederations Cup for a record third time.
Up next for the U.S. is the Gold Cup, the championship for North and Central America where coach Bradley will take an experimental squad to evaluate role players ahead of next years World Cup.
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
With their chances of advancing so slim, (The U.S. needed to beat Egypt 3-0 and have Brazil beat Italy 3-0) the U.S. came out relaxed and Charlie Davies put them in front with a scrappy goal that lead to a 1-0 halftime lead.
In the locker rooms, they were informed that Brazil had gone up 3-0 to Italy, and with the reality of advancement in their grasp they came out firing in the second half.
Michael Bradley scored after playing a very slick give and go with Donovan and a late Clint Dempsey strike put the Yanks through as Brazil held their 3-0 advantage over Italy.
And what did the U.S. get for their troubles, a match-up with the No. 1 ranked team in the world Spain in the semi-finals.
The U.S. was again given little chance against La Furia Roja, but they came out with fire and aggression and it paid off when Altidore put a screamer off the arm of Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The U.S. defense absorbed wave after wave of Spanish attacks before Dempsey added another late to put the US into the finals for the first time in FIFA tournament.
After the game, Michael Bradley hit back at the critics saying, "All the critics and analysts back home that think they known about soccer don't known what goes inside this team. We know what we are capable of and we showed it tonight."
They would meet Brazil after a late free kick from Daniel Alves lifted them over host nation South Africa in the other semi-final.
In the final the U.S. again took control of the game when Dempsey steered in a Jonathan Spector cross, and then Donovan put them up by two after finishing off a Brazilian-esque counter-attack.
But it was not to be for the Americans, and after two Luis Fabiano goals pulled Brazil level, captain Lucio put a late header past U.S. keeper Tim Howard and Brazil lifted the Confederations Cup for a record third time.
Up next for the U.S. is the Gold Cup, the championship for North and Central America where coach Bradley will take an experimental squad to evaluate role players ahead of next years World Cup.
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
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