Pure class by the team, pure class by its fans. DoKiEh, congratulatory after a tough loss (how many chances does a team get at setting a world-record unbeaten streak?); Spain, no diving, no whining, just soccer (even in defeat, pleasing to watch).
congratulation USA Team. - Defence is perfect. just need a real leader to make the best attack. (sorry for my english) Go Go Usa
I think that this goes to show how difficult it is to beat a team that puts a lot of men behind the ball and defends their heart out, no matter how much more talent you supposedly have. Although the US had the better of the play the first after hour, after that Spain dominated. However, because Spain's last balls were consistent poor and the US was defending really well inside their own box, Spain was unable to break through. Spain's biggest failings were that they did not try to play through the middle, instead sending the ball out wide every chance they got, and that once the got the ball out wide they mostly tried to cross the ball in the air where Onyewu was dominant instead of on the ground. A tremendous performance by the US, but also a very disappointing performance by Spain's playmakers.
The mistake for Spain was thinking they could score from crosses, they troubled the Americans most when they slid the ball through their backline.
100%. They played like England, the crosses didn't work so they didn't change just kept pumping cross after cross in hoping for the best.
Oh, YEAH!!!! US takes 'em down! To all the naysayers: do you prefer mustard or BBQ sauce with your crow?
great, now the final its the easiest we can get. i wanted Brasil to beat Spain, but well, i guess beating the U.S. three times in a row will have to do it.
I agree. I would also however like to add that Donovan should have seen red for what he did in the dying minutes of the game. I loved the team, but Donovan is pathetic. I'm not sure about the offside decisions. I think one decision was correct and on the other one we didn't get to see the situation from a good angle.
i think so, they could have been at their vacation right now, but they chose to play because they wanna show Dunga that they can be part of the team that will go to WC.
what a great game! takes me back to the joy of 2002! fun times, stellar work by our boys. our defense was phenominal, particually gooch. props to howard for getting a big win w/ the clean sheet and dempsey for getting 2 big goals in big games, he reminded me of mcbride 02
What about what Spain did to Donovan in the first half (forgot which minute) where they basically decked him and then rubbed it in his face? What qualifies as a red card anymore? Donovan played a beautiful game and to call him pathetic is to just be bitter.
Donovan was crying like a little baby on that play how can you deny that? That was definitely not a red or yellow card he made the most of it. But Michael Bradley certainly did not deserve a red card maybe a yellow from some referees but definitely not a red card.
No from what I saw it was a dead ball situation and Spain slammed into Donovan and then followed it with taunting, either way if you're gonna call what we did as red then you have to lower the bar for everything.
I'll add to this (since beforehand it was overrun by fanboys/ Bandwagon United): Que se quire un plato de halgo...?
Donovan dove a number of times in this game it was really quite embarrassing for him. I cant believe how much he exaggerated some stuff.
Wooooo, let's go. I watched this game and was greatly pleased. Forget all the haters, I told ya'll, anything can happen. This is why they play the game. The US played with heart and played extra hard. The defense was solid, Howard was amazing, and Lando has shown his quality in this competition. Spain was never gonna beat the USA in the air, that was the greatest and maybe only clear advantage we had over them. They underestimated us, didn't do their homework, and thought that they were gonna waltz over the USA, now Spain is going home. You can say lots about the USA, we might not have creativity and skill all over the field, but we tend to have the best athletes with the best athleticism in most sports, and that can make up for other qualities that may be lacking. Bottom line: the USA wanted it more, and believed that they can do it. Hopefully this showing will get Jozy on a team where he can consistently play, and get Onyewu back in the England, or in Italy or Spain. Great job USA. Now, we need some a bit of magic, heart, and effort in the final. Let's finish this shock to the football world. Even if something positive is going for us in the final, I anticipate more "controversial" (BAD) calls from the ref to influence the game, most likely against us. It already started with the red-card that shouldn't have been for Bradley in this game, now he can't play in the final, and he is a integral piece of our midfield. Who is gonna replace him now? I say give Freddy a run, we need to attempt to match some of the creativity of Brazil, and Sasha hasn't been showing anything as of late.
And soon enough we'll have Jermaine Jones to command the Midfield. This was a great win; probably the biggest in our history. Gooch has really redeemed himself in my eyes. He was an absolute monster back there today clearing anything that came his way. Well done boys. Anyone know where I can get a vuvuzela? Lol, jk. Its going to be crazy on Sunday here in NorCal.
What a shocker! Spain were completely out of sorts today and were beaten by a better team. But let's not get carried away here. It was a fantastic win but remember you still got demolished by Brasil and Italy. Spain were constantly pressuring the US but they didn't have a plan B: They first wanted to pass through you like they usually do, but that didn't work because of the 10-0-0 formation the US had adopted, so they started resorting to crosses into the box, which was completely hopeless since they have one of the smallest teams in the world and were never going to win the ariel game. Lest us not forget that South Africa outplayed Spain for half an hour but ultimately paid the price for thier lack of real finishing talent. So we cannot say that the US are the first team to have Spain on the ropes. Having said all that, this is YOUR victory and you should enjoy it, it would be cruel for anybody to take that away from you. Your team did play well, and deserved the win. I am just trying to be a completely realistic and unbiased voice and telling it how it is: You defeated the best team in the world today, and deserved it, but this does not mean you are going to win the world cup, or that you are better than any team in Europe (like I have seen some US fans saying on other message boards). By the way I am not a Spain or a US fan, I like both teams equally so you cannot say I am bashing the US national team. I can see you having a good run at the World Cup next year (provided you get a decent draw) maybe another Quarter Final appearance. Well I can say this for sure; the US sure has an awesome counter attack due to the speed of its players, and Spain paid the price today for throwing everybody forward. I particulary admired how the team did not show Spain too much respect. If only my own national team (England) would take notice and stop being chokers on the world stage. Sadly I ask too much.
I agree with what you've said for the most part. I am not one to crown anybody anything. I can't stand it when people do that. MUFC v Barca. My friends, the media kept telling me Utd had it in the bag. I was nervous for a drastic no show and that's what we got. In terms of USMNT talk about nervous, pins and needles scenario, man I sweating the hole game, pacing back and forth; couldn't sit down. But you are wrong about one thing, we are better than some teams in Europe when we play the way we played today. We all know the Brazil's, the Italy's are not only extremely talented but consistent, see FC Hollywood (Bayern Munich) if you don't believe. Great players but horribly inconsistent. The Spanish team we beat today had not lost since 2006 and had not allowed a goal in what, 451 minutes? That says something of the way the US played. If it can be replecated, you can say we are better than some of the UEFA teams. Here's to a USA v England 2010 WC Final.... Well hoping for it anyways. With our luck it will be a group stage debacle.
No offense, but we did not get demolished by Italy. In fact, we ouplayed them 11v11, and even after Clark got harshly sent off, we still managed to score while a man down and held a 1-0 lead well into the second half.