Today, I witnessed something that I didn't even imagine was possible when I woke up this morning. The United States Mens National Team - yes, the same team that looked so uninspired against Brazil and were dominated by "world powerhouse" Costa Rica recently - pulled off an improbable upset of no. 1 ranked Spain in the Confederations Cup. Yes, they beat Spain, who hadn't lost a game since November of 2006. And they fully deserved the victory.
Jozy Altidore, who has been slagged for missing chances and not doing enough on the pitch throughout this tournament, hushed all of his critics with a skillful turn around Joan Capdevila and fired a shot which Casillas could only parry into the corner of the net on 25 minutes. Then Clint Dempsey, who had his best game for the United States in a while, beat Sergio Ramos to a deflected cross and slotted home while falling over in the second half. These were the only two shots on goal that the Americans had, but it was all they needed.
The back line played out of their skins for 90 minutes, keeping Fernando Torres and David Villa, the world's most explosive and dangerous strike partnership, at bay. They received a lot of help from the midfield, and together the United States was very organized defensively. Tim Howard commanded his box and made several game-changing saves to preserve the US lead. The first ten minutes of the second half especially when Spain was on the attack, it seemed like the US was flying into tackles and blocking every shot that Spain could muster. Even after Michael Bradley was sent off late, Spain couldn't find a way through to score. A heroic effort all around.
I asked the question in my last USMNT post - could the United States string two good performances in a row? The answer is a resounding yes. The team will take on the winner of South Africa and Brazil (played tomorrow) on Sunday. The US is already assured of their best finish ever in a Confederations Cup. They were never expected to come this far, yet now they're 90 minutes away from possibly achieving something spectacular.
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