Confederations Cup - US Eye: Time to fear America

Eurosport - Thu, 25 Jun 16:34:00 2009

Yahoo! Sports' US football writer Martin Rogers believes Team USA's Confederations Cup win against Spain could lead to greater things.

Jozy Altidore of the US (R) celebrates with team mate Charlie Davies after scoring a goal during their Confederations Cup semi-final against Spain at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein - 0

Finally, the US national team's long-standing advertising slogan titled 'Don't Tread On Me' can be worn proudly - and accurately.

After all too often curling up into a ball and pleading for mercy against world powers, Bob Bradley's team threw off its shackles on Wednesday night to deliver one of the greatest results in US history.

Written off going into the Confederations Cup and ridiculed after blowout losses in their first two games, somehow Bradley's players found the will and the way to defeat Spain 2-0 on Wednesday and clinch a place in Sunday's championship game of South Africa's 2010 World Cup warm-up event.

Somewhere in that wondrous and diverse land, this collection of players from clubs all around Europe and North America found a common understanding. Out of the ashes of a 3-0 defeat to Brazil that resembled champions against children came the most improbable of revivals. Last Sunday's 3-0 victory over Egypt sparked some confidence, but even that improved performance gave little indication of what was to come.

Virtually the same group of players was dreadful against Brazil and outclassed by Italy. The tactics were not drastically different, either. But the mindset was a world apart. From the outset, the US proved to Spain that it would not be bowed, even against a team ranked the best on the planet. The Americans attacked hard and early and set some seeds of doubt into the minds of an opponent that could have been forgiven for expecting an easy ride.

Now, the USA is not suddenly a world beater. It should not be expected to start conquering elite opponents with regularity. However, what this performance does is teach Bradley's men a vital lesson.

They don't need to be afraid anymore.

Whether it is Spain, Brazil, Germany or Argentina, they are playing against human beings. Just as importantly, beating Spain delivers a signal of intent to prospective World Cup rivals. Suddenly, other teams will sit up and take notice.

At this stage, it looks likely that the US will be one of the third seeds going into the World Cup draw later this year - assuming, of course, that qualification is safely negotiated. Now, with some justification, the Americans can be seen as a dangerous opponent capable of springing a shock victory instead of merely a soft touch.

Fear was the biggest problem engulfing this side, not a chronic lack of ability. On this night, there was none of it. The reputation of Spain, with all of its superstars and a world-record 15-game win streak, counted for nothing.

For that, Bradley must be given credit. He not only had his players fired up to perform, but he also instilled in them the necessity for an aggressive start. Spain was surprised by the fluency and verve of the USA and had to be wondering what happened to the team that was so inept earlier in the tournament.

Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey were the goal scorers, but there were many heroes on this night of nights. Landon Donovan was inspired, orchestrating like the kind of leader USA fans have wanted him to be for years. Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark flung themselves into the fray against the awesome Spanish midfield.

Tim Howard stood tall in goal every time he was called upon, and the backline of Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit and Jonathan Spector resisted wave after wave from Spain's lethal strike duo of Fernando Torres and David Villa. The only lowlight was Michael Bradley's harsh red card for a late lunge, but by then, the result was already beyond doubt.

The Confederations Cup may not register at the top of the international soccer agenda, but don't think for a moment Spain didn't want to win it. The expressions carved into the faces of the Spanish players told a tale that will be treated with utter disbelief when the reigning European champions return home.

Sure, the World Cup is where the US truly needs to show what it is capable of. And one upset victory does not make the Americans a world beater or a favourite to lift the ultimate prize in 12 months time. But the USA is a team to tread carefully in the presence of now. It's no longer an opponent to trample all over.

Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports / Eurosport

Comment 2 - 21 of 21

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  1. A week ago, Martin was writing how the US team was in­ turmoil. Now they are the one to fear. WHOOPADEDOO!!!!!­ Truth is, they are ranked 14th, which means they should­ beat egypt and win roughly 1 out of 3 against top 5­ opponents which they've done. They will never­ 'win the big one' if Landon Donovan does not­ realize the is 'the guy' and start burying the­ shot's he has instead of passing into traffic (it­ worked vs Spain, it lost the game vs Ghana in WC06).­ The 2 million kids playing soccer every weekend are­ growing up into a football nation. Increased­ competition will make the team better. in 5 years,­ Landon's problem will be gone whether he fixes it­ or not. But who knows if they'll ever compete in­ the WC final. Look at Holland & England. And look­ at the heartless piles of XXXX they put together­ against El Salvador, Costa Rica, & Brazil over the­ last few months. The US & Concacaf do not get the­ respect they deserve. But the US team has to take some­ responsibility for that too.

    From Maxx92, on Fri 26 Jun 4:24PM

  2. Spain got lazy in their ridiculously easy group stage,­ the US was playing above themselves a man down against­ Italy and Brazil. I did think the US would win, but­ that was probably more hopeful than logical. Well done­ to the USA, we finally started playing with some­ passion and energy. WHAT'S WITH THE 3 RED CARDS IN­ 4 GAMES? None of them were the cleanest of tackles,­ but any and all should probably have been yellows and­ Bradley's last night shouldn't have even­ brought out a card. Key for the US against Brazil: ­ Keep 11 players on the field and don't get caught­ watching the game.

    From chris c, on Fri 26 Jun 3:48PM

  3. usa played a smart game but spain didnt show up

    From Chris, on Thu 25 Jun 10:17PM

  4. US match up well against the slow possession type teams­ like Brazil, Mexico and Spain, but are easily nullified­ against big, physical and fasts teams like England,­ Germany and Croatia. Until the US team becomes the­ complete package, articles like this will only serve­ the writer's ego, and agitate knowledgeable fans.­ I'm not against any flag waving, just realistic­ about the US team.

    From Far S, on Thu 25 Jun 10:00PM

  5. BRAZIL RULES

    From NaniB, on Thu 25 Jun 6:18PM

  6. go brazil

    From NaniB, on Thu 25 Jun 6:16PM

  7. My preference has always been not to assume, but rest­ assured baseball will definetly benefit from this..

    From james, on Thu 25 Jun 6:04PM

  8. pegez,,please don't compare USA's win last­ night to that of Barca's in the Champions league­ final!The US won because they defended extremely well­ and took the few chances that fell their way!Barcelona­ won because they outplayed United in every area of the­ pitch!Their is a big difference between both­ performances!Well done to the US for proving what their­ capable of,hopefully this will give the footballing­ community in the US the boost that it needs!

    From MichealS, on Thu 25 Jun 5:30PM

  9. PEGEZ. Barcelona clearly outplayed Man U and dominated­ that game. How can you think they were the underdog

    From Adam B, on Thu 25 Jun 5:23PM

  10. Pegez- Much like United ran into a "hot­ goalie" when it went down to Everton in the FA­ cup? Oh wait, that was Tim Howard too.

    From BRS, on Thu 25 Jun 5:22PM

  11. I'm a US citizen and follow the US teams fairly­ well (admittedly, not avidly). Also, I've played­ some sort of organized soccer for nearly 30 years.­ While the game was a fantastic win for the US, I'm­ a bit surprised at the "US has now served­ notice" articles. Unfortunately, I was unable to­ watch the whole game. What I saw, though, was a Spain­ team on cruise control -- they didn't play with an­ attitude or an edge. While all the credit is due to the­ US side for their aggressiveness and play, I am­ reserving judgment until Sunday. If they can hold­ Brazil to a meaningful one-goal-difference loss, draw,­ or even win (hey, whowouldathunk the win over Spain),­ then I think the US team makes its case. However, and­ this is my fear, if the US loses by two or more in a­ game dominated by the Brazilian team, then I think it­ is safe to say that Wednesday victory is more a one-off­ game than a trend.

    Regardless... Go USA!

    From Matt, on Thu 25 Jun 4:57PM

  12. Great win but people take notice now. You won't­ get out of the group stage next year in WC. A great­ win still.

    From Silver N, on Thu 25 Jun 4:44PM

  13. Jiate - Barca were considered underdogs in that game­ and I beleive United were the better team, just not in­ that match after Barca scored in their 1st of few­ counterattacks

    From pegez, on Thu 25 Jun 4:19PM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I discorvered a hot­ place-
    """""""Tallme­ et C om""""""" where­ many- sexy singles- who like dating and-- chatting­ there.- I'm an open- minded girl with strong­ s---exual- a--ttraction I-- am Waiting 4 u

    From Jenny C, on Thu 25 Jun 3:54PM

  15. #7 this is NOTHING like Man Utd VS Barcelona!

    In that­ game, the BEST team by a mile won, deservedly so. No­ upset there.
    Here, US were clearly the underdog! Dont­ follow your logic at all!

    From Jiate, on Thu 25 Jun 3:25PM
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    To varying degrees, similar reasons were why Man United­ lost to Barca in the CL finale. it can happen to the­ best teams in a one-off game. Especially the­ 'caraja' element (after the 1st Barca­ counter-attack producing the 1st goal and Ronaldo­ trying to win the game all by himself - for the benefit­ of Madrid!)

    I think Spain (and everyone else) just­ took for granted they were going to beat America. I­ think they were unluky though - they had 100shots on­ goal it seemed like and ran into a 'hot goalie'­ on the day. I think the man of the match should be the­ US teams' bus driver - for parking it in front of­ their goal! They made Chelsea's 1st leg effort vs­ Barca look like Brasil circa 1970. Luck is definitely­ on the US teams side - I mean even getting into this­ game for them was a minor miracle

    From pegez, on Thu 25 Jun 3:12PM

  17. strait up #4 USA USA USA!!!

    From henryflaig, on Thu 25 Jun 3:03PM

  18. What a great and heart filled performance by the US.

    From Matt f, on Thu 25 Jun 3:02PM

  19. STATISTICS DOESN'T PLAY FOOTBALL ANY MORE. THE GAME­ OF A DAY IS DETERMINED ON THE SAME DAY NOT PREVIOUS­ RECORDS

    From MAYOR, on Thu 25 Jun 1:08PM

  20. i would't go that far they had a lucky night just­ like egypt did when they played italy but well done 2­ them they played they'er legs off

    From Gman, on Thu 25 Jun 12:24PM
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