USA Looks Forward

After the tough loss to Brazil the USA team looks forward to the Gold Cup. They well likely send there B team to the tournment from what I have been told from ESPN. They open up play with Grenada on the 4th of June.

Gold Cup Fixture

Hondoras
Haiti
United States
Grenada

After the gold cup they will play in a World Cup Qualifying match against Mexico on Aug 12th.

Here are the standings so far for qualifiying.




*note top 3 move on to next round

Usa vs Brazil

Brazil 2 time champion of the Confederations Cup. USA never made a finals apperance. Brazil never trialed this whole tournment. USA got into the Semi-finals by pure luck. USA shouldn't of been in the game. We have never been in the finals of any Fifa tournment, we have only beat Brazil once in our history, just last week we were killed by the great brazil team 3-0.

With all that said. You would think Brazil would come into the game and take care of buisness. Beat us and win another Confederations Cup to add to there collection. From the start USA came to play. In the 10th min Clint Dempsey flicked a great cross into the back of the net. That was followed by Donovan in the 27th min with a great pass from Charlie Davies to put us up 2-0. The rest of half USA defended for the most part and Tim Howard was huge! Tim Howard made save after save after save AFTER save.

The 2nd half Brazil responded early with a goal in the 46th min by Fabiano which gave him 4 goals in the Confederations Cup and that is the most by any player in the tournment. ( Dempsey is in a tie for 2nd with a few other players at 3 goals) The USA defended for most of the start of the 2nd half. In the 57th min Brazil almost put in a corner kick. My heart stopped when i saw it happen. We got a lucky break on the play. In the 60th min Tom Howard came up HUGE !!! He made a great save when he pushed the ball into the cross bar then got up and grabbed it. Once again my heart stopped! After further review i think the ball mave have cleared the line which would have tied it 2-2. The refs didn't think so but i am not so sure yet. I watched it over and over on my TV and i don't know, that ball seemed it mave have crossed the line, but good job by Howard to get the ball out of there. Donavan had a shot pushed wide in the 64th min and later Dempsey had a shot in the 65th min which was pushed wide for a corner. The corner didn't create any thing else for us though. In the 70th min Tom Howard ran out and grabbed the ball before anything could happen but then screamed at his defenders for some help. Brazil had lots of chances so far in the half but only one of them had gone in.

Fabiano scored a header 74th min. Which gave him his 5th goal of the tournment and a tie with USA. The USA players were stunned by this and Tim Howard was mad. He saved the first shot but the header came to Fabiano and Howard couldn't do anything about it. In the 84th min Brazil put the game to bed with a with a goal by there captain Lucio. USA was deafeated 3-2 in the final. All in all it was a good tournment for the USA they got runners up and played well.

The World Looks On! 45 Minutes More!

-Johannesburg

In a shocking development the U.S.A. Soccer Team is stunning the world and Brazil, with a 2-0 lead at half time against the 5-time world champions. They aren't looking much like the team that beat the U.S.A. 3-0 earlier in the cup.

They are still out shooting, out possessing, and out skilling the Americans, but they are lacking where it counts, the score. Efficiency is something the U.S. is not lacking no more than 2 shots on goal and no less than 2 shots in the goal.

It started off with the U.S. scoring in the 10' with a little touch off of Spector’s fantastic cross, following their pattern of scoring first. Then, some 10 minutes later the U.S.A. looks a little like their opponents, with a fantastic counter off a Brazil corner, with Donovan and Davies with some beautiful passes finished off by great composure from Donovan to knock it in the net from the top of the 18.

Look for Tim Howard to continue to be a big presence with terrific positioning and saves, but watch out for the likes of Melo, Robinho, and last but not least Kaka. The U.S. must continue to play smart and create opportunities off counter attacks, because Dunga is not going to go easy. See you back in 45 minutes!

Most Important game in USA Soccer History?

There have been articles written about this game being the biggest game in the history of USA soccer. In the USA soccer has been overshadowed by other sports such as football, basketball, and baseball. Many think that a win here would make soccer big in the USA. With all that preasure riding on our team how will they overcome it? Who will step up? I don't know if the USA has a big star like a Kobe Bryant type guy that will take over the game when they need it. The closest thing to that we would have is maybe Landon Donavon or maybe the keeper Tim Howard. Last game against Spain it was Tim Howard that stepped up. Now I know he needs another big game but Iam looking for Donavan to play big as well. Game is on ESPN on Sunday June 28th at 2:30.

USA To Face Brazil

The USA has reached the Finals of the Fifa Confederation Cup after beating Spain 2-0 after two goals by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. There they will face Brazil who beat host South Africa today 1-0 with a beautiful shot off a free kick in the 88th minute by substitute Daniel Alves.

The game between the USA and Brazil would normally be a no-brainer for analysts, Brazil wins. But it's not the same this time. After a resounding 3-0 loss against Brazil in the Group Stage the Americans look poised to make a better impression, especially following the emotional high from the stunning victory over ranked #1 Spain. Brazil itself looked rocky against South Africa just managing to get away (and unlike USA-Spain it was back and forth the whole game) in the 88th minute. The key for the USA will be getting back on Brazil's well known counter-attacks. The US will be playing without coach Bob Bradley's son Micheal Bradley, who was issued a red card in the 86th minute in the game against Spain.

The game will be shown on ESPN at 2:00 ET on Sunday. So go to church (if you must) but hurry home and watch our boys attempt to win their first ever Fifa Confederation Cup. If they manage to do it they may easily be known as the best American Team we have ever seen.

Good Luck USA!

~Swede