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Solid U.S. gets job done, with a little help
Putting together a solid performance against an undermanned and exhausted Egyptian side, the USA racked up a well-deserved 3-0 win thanks to goals from Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Charlie Davies. In addition, a rampant Brazil crushed Italy 3-0, to allow the USA to slip in on total goals scored, the second tiebreaker.
FIFA Confederations Cup
The USA, which won only one game, and had conceded six goals so far, goes on to face Spain on Wednesday.
The game was an unexpected reaction to what had been withering, and unusually public, criticism of a side that for so long had been off the sports radar. The Americans, buoyed by the growing popularity of the game in the States, seemed taken aback this week by the ferocious response in mainstream news outlets to their performances, and seemed to have few answers.
But tournaments are decided on the scoreboards, not on paper, and not by the many pundits who have almost universally panned the Americans' performance this summer. In so doing, the U.S. team arguably gained a bit of respect back — and no doubt saved coach Bob Bradley's job for the time being.
The Americans are nothing if not predictable in tournaments. Historically, they play one good game, one poor game, and one average game. This time around, that good game fell at exactly the right moment.
That shouldn't obscure the fact that the Americans got loads of help, and despite winning, did not look like world beaters. In truth, it was a remarkable evening of football in South Africa, with the world champions going out quickly thanks to two goals from Luis Fabiano and a critical capper at the feet of Italy's Andrea Dossena. That own goal gave the Americans a ray of light, and they seized it.
Davies had opened the account in the 21st minute, after a sloppy scrum at the goalmouth — resulting in a head injury to keeper Essam El Hadari — allowed the Hammarby forward to poke the ball home. Davies, one of three changes made from the USA's dismal showing against Brazil, brought a spark of life up top at the opening, but his goal was not a thing of beauty. It didn't matter — it counted.
From there, the Americans pressed Egypt relentlessly, taking advantage of the absence of key forward Mohamed Zidan (hamstring) and the slow pace of the game to spread the field out. Jozy Altidore should have added a second for the Americans, but ref Michael Hester incorrectly ruled that a goalline clearance from Hani Said was fair; it was instead a handball, and should have been a goal.
Yet, there was no video replay to see today, so the Americans looked to have gotten another cruel bounce.
But, as happened last year, Bradley scored on Father's Day to re-ignite the American side. Fed by man-of-the-match Landon Donovan, the younger Bradley blasted the ball past El Hadari low and left. And then, Dempsey, who had not previously been able to influence the game, scored with a fabulous header to cap the win.
How did the Yanks pull it off? They got a lot of help from Egypt, who looked spent. After two high-speed games against two of the best teams in the world, the African champs had nothing left. The Pharaohs also made a fatal mistake in seemingly underestimating the Americans while employing an offense that played right to the USA's defensive strengths.
U.S. Soccer in the spotlight
While Jonathan Bornstein again struggled on the flank, and the American midfield had difficulty getting the ball out wide, the Egyptians inexplicably tried to beat the USA in the air, with searching balls plunked into the area. All of them were met by the taller, stouter duo of Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, who have become a formidable team.
Brad Guzan also was a vast improvement over Tim Howard. Instead of punching the ball back into danger, Guzan collected it and then distributed it well. And the play of Jonathan Spector out wide has been revelatory. The young West Ham defender has surely solidified his position for the time being with his consistent play and dangerous attacks.
The Americans also avoided another pitfall — they actually finished the game with eleven men, a welcome change. Ricardo Clark, slinking back into the starting lineup after being sent off against Italy, did not have his best outing, but at least he did not assault anyone with a slide tackle. And Dempsey, who was dragged up and down the length of the field to try and cover back — not his strongest suit — looked truly at home with the introduction of Benny Feilhaber, allowing the Fulham man to do what he does best, create and score.
But the game truly belonged to Donovan. The captain has been outspoken in recent days over all sorts of matters, almost acting as a de facto coach. He backed his words up today with a sterling effort that should silence his many detractors, if only temporarily.
And coach Bradley? He got lucky. Give him credit for taking the blame for the losses against Brazil and Italy. Like the class act he is, he will credit the players tonight. But that will not remove all the pressure.
The fact remains that fans know this team is not playing up to its potential consistently. The USA has lost three of the five key games they played this summer. Now, the USA will get a chance to play with no pressure against the European champions Wednesday, and might be able to ease some of the worries.
But Bradley will still be under the scope, and everyone knows beating Egypt isn't the same thing as beating England or Italy or France.
No matter. Tonight, it surely feels just as sweet.
Jamie Trecker's newest book, "Love and Blood: At the World Cup with the Footballers, Fans and Freaks" is out now from Harcourt. Jamie is assisted by Jerry and Janice Trecker. Contact Jamie at jamie.trecker@gmail.com and visit his blog and website at www.jamietrecker.com.
The views and opinions expressed by Jamie Trecker do not necessarily reflect those of the Fox Soccer Channel or FoxSoccer.com.
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