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USA Shows A Little Bit Of Heart And Soul
Goal.com's Kathryn L. Knapp explains what the U.S. used to help them overcome Spain on Wednesday.
Jun 24, 2009 8:37:00 PM
The United States just upset the No. 1 team in the world – Spain. Unbelievable. Spain and Brazil were expected to play each other in the final of the Confederations Cup. But today the Americans defied all the odds and made it to the final.
It was a hard-fought 2-0 win. The whole team defended from start to finish. They scored two and held strong. It’s beyond fair to say the best team won. A team that has been flying under the radar for a long time proved it can battle with the best of them. All it takes is a bit of heart and soul. And the U.S. men proved they’ve got a lot of it.
The Americans were drawn into nearly an impossible group with Brazil, Italy and Egypt. While the task at hand was a tough one, they never hung their heads down. They approached every game with a can-win attitude. In the first match, the U.S. men took a 1-0 lead when Landon Donovan buried a penalty kick against Italy. The Italians fought back, tallying three unanswered goals. It was cruel… and stung a little bit.
But the Americans picked themselves back up just in time to face Brazil. Again three unanswered goals gave the USA a dose of reality. And once again… they picked themselves up. Next up was Egypt. At this point, they had nothing to lose. So they went into the match and threw everything they had at Egypt. It took just 21 minutes for the U.S. to get on the board. Charlie Davies tallied an unassisted goal. Second half, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey gave the Americans a 3-0 lead.
It was their first win in Confederations Cup play. And since the Americans scored four goals compared to Italy’s three… they headed to the semifinals against Spain. For the Americans it was just a great opportunity. For the No. 1 team in the world were expected to easily get past the USA.
The U.S. men fired from the first whistle. While the statistics said that Spain dominated, the Americans did everything right while remaining calm, cool and collected. Jozy Altidore gave the U.S. an early lead in just the 27th minute. And in the 74th minute, Dempsey finished the job giving the Americans a commanding 2-0 advantage. The USA held on to its lead, despite a late push by Spain and an 86th minute red card for Michael Bradley.
Dempsey may not have known exactly what that third goal meant when he scored it against Egypt. But today against Spain he knew exactly what the goals meant. He played with heart and hustle, creating opportunity after opportunity for the U.S. Dempsey assisted Jozy Altidore on his goal, beating the Spanish defenders and crossing the ball into Altidore. And then added a spectacular goal of his own. At the end of the day his goal was icing on the cake.
Landon Donovan, love him or hate him, has been relentless for the Americans. He tallied the first goal of the tournament – a penalty kick against Italy. And while he may not have scored again… he still created trouble or the opposing teams. Donovan does the dirty work, taking a lot of fouls and in return creating opportunities for the Americans. In this tournament, he was just as effective if not more.
At the end of the day an argument could be made for any one of the Americans for why they showed heart and/or soul. When it comes right down to it, head coach Bob Bradley said it best when the U.S. was in World Cup Qualifying. “Our strength is playing as a team collectively,” Bradley said.
Today the U.S. men were all on the same page. They were looking to win a match. It didn’t matter who they played. All that mattered was once they took the pitch, they gave it their all – 110 percent. From front to back, side to side, the Americans played as a unit. They were dominant and made their mark. It’s amazing what playing with a little bit of heart and soul can do…
Kathryn L. Knapp, Goal.com
It was a hard-fought 2-0 win. The whole team defended from start to finish. They scored two and held strong. It’s beyond fair to say the best team won. A team that has been flying under the radar for a long time proved it can battle with the best of them. All it takes is a bit of heart and soul. And the U.S. men proved they’ve got a lot of it.
The Americans were drawn into nearly an impossible group with Brazil, Italy and Egypt. While the task at hand was a tough one, they never hung their heads down. They approached every game with a can-win attitude. In the first match, the U.S. men took a 1-0 lead when Landon Donovan buried a penalty kick against Italy. The Italians fought back, tallying three unanswered goals. It was cruel… and stung a little bit.
But the Americans picked themselves back up just in time to face Brazil. Again three unanswered goals gave the USA a dose of reality. And once again… they picked themselves up. Next up was Egypt. At this point, they had nothing to lose. So they went into the match and threw everything they had at Egypt. It took just 21 minutes for the U.S. to get on the board. Charlie Davies tallied an unassisted goal. Second half, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey gave the Americans a 3-0 lead.
It was their first win in Confederations Cup play. And since the Americans scored four goals compared to Italy’s three… they headed to the semifinals against Spain. For the Americans it was just a great opportunity. For the No. 1 team in the world were expected to easily get past the USA.
The U.S. men fired from the first whistle. While the statistics said that Spain dominated, the Americans did everything right while remaining calm, cool and collected. Jozy Altidore gave the U.S. an early lead in just the 27th minute. And in the 74th minute, Dempsey finished the job giving the Americans a commanding 2-0 advantage. The USA held on to its lead, despite a late push by Spain and an 86th minute red card for Michael Bradley.
Dempsey may not have known exactly what that third goal meant when he scored it against Egypt. But today against Spain he knew exactly what the goals meant. He played with heart and hustle, creating opportunity after opportunity for the U.S. Dempsey assisted Jozy Altidore on his goal, beating the Spanish defenders and crossing the ball into Altidore. And then added a spectacular goal of his own. At the end of the day his goal was icing on the cake.
Landon Donovan, love him or hate him, has been relentless for the Americans. He tallied the first goal of the tournament – a penalty kick against Italy. And while he may not have scored again… he still created trouble or the opposing teams. Donovan does the dirty work, taking a lot of fouls and in return creating opportunities for the Americans. In this tournament, he was just as effective if not more.
At the end of the day an argument could be made for any one of the Americans for why they showed heart and/or soul. When it comes right down to it, head coach Bob Bradley said it best when the U.S. was in World Cup Qualifying. “Our strength is playing as a team collectively,” Bradley said.
Today the U.S. men were all on the same page. They were looking to win a match. It didn’t matter who they played. All that mattered was once they took the pitch, they gave it their all – 110 percent. From front to back, side to side, the Americans played as a unit. They were dominant and made their mark. It’s amazing what playing with a little bit of heart and soul can do…
Kathryn L. Knapp, Goal.com
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