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From the category archives:
World Cup
Am I dreaming or did the US beat the #1 ranked team in the world, Spain, 2-0 yesterday in the Confederations Cup Final to advance to the squad’s first real chance at worldwide glory? Well, I can’t be dreaming. First of all, I never sleep lately. Secondly, I watched the results unfold on Matchtracker and caught the replay last night on ESPN2. So…
It must have really happened. Despite all the so-called expert’s opinions and long odds, the US has beaten a team no one has beaten in 35 matches (a world record). It was a thrilling game full of fantastic play by both squads, but in the end the US has emerged as a Confederations Cup finalist and a newly-crowned darkhorse contender in 2010.
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Odds are tricky. In math (well, more specifically, statistical probability theory), the “odds” in favor of a specific event occurring are difficult to calculate. In fact, some of the formulas used for solving complex odds equations are confusing enough to make one’s head explode – sort of like the US MNT’s play recently has made my head explode.
The odds the US would advance to the Semifinal of the Confederations Cup yesterday were not just low – they were infinitesimal. Not only did the US have to beat Egypt (who had lost to Brazil 4-3 and beaten Italy 1-0) by three goals, but they also had to get lucky and have Brazil beat reigning World Cup champ Italy by three goals. Sound probable?
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It was a result that nobody expected, especially after the way they played in the first two games. But the U.S. men’s team heat Egypt 3-0 on Sunday, and that combined with Brazil’s 3-0 thrashing of Italy means the U.S. is in the Confederations Cup semi-finals where they will play Spain. Spain are the European champions who are on a 35 match unbeaten dating back to a November 2006 exhibition loss to Romania. On and by the way, Spain is the world’s top-ranked team.
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It has been a tough week for the U.S. national team. Two games against Brazil and Italy have produced more red cards (2) than goals (1). So what is going on with the national team? Are we really that bad?
Lets keep one thing in mind when analyzing the U.S. performance in the Confederations Cup. The U.S. has played two of the best four teams in the world. It is not as if the U.S. has lost to Cuba and Bermuda. None of the U.S. players would get into the starting line-up for either Italy or Brazil. I don’t think anyone seriously thought the U.S. would win either of these two games.
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The U.S. gets involved in Confederations Cup action Monday with a game against the World Cup holders. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN and Telefutura with a 2:25 ET kickoff.
“Italy is going to be favored,” U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra said. “The pressure will be on them, and we want to go out there and show that we can play with them and get a good result. Any time you get a chance to play Italy or another top team like the ones we will be facing is great. This is how you challenge yourself, and it’s what you measure yourself against. These are the best teams in the world and we want to see how we rate against them. It’s a good challenge for our team.”
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Spain’s Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick within 17 minutes of the kick-off as tournament favourites Spain routed New Zealand 5-0 at a half-full Rustenburg stadium.
The Liverpool striker broke the deadlock after six minutes, then added his second and third in the 14th and 17th minutes. Cesc Fabregas made it four seven minutes later before David Villa completed the rout early in the second half. Despite a committed performance from the Kiwis, it was all very straightforward for Spain, who have further reinforced their credentials to win the tournament in two weeks time.
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That was a huge win by the U.S. men’s team last night in Chicago, as they came produced their first come-from-behind win in qualifying since 1985 to beat a tough Honduras team.
This was a much better performance by the U.S. than Wednesday’s dismal performance in Costa Rica. Coach Bob Bradley must have read STO on Thursday as sent Beasley to the bench and replacing him with Jonathan Bornstein. Jonathan Spector played right back in a new U.S. defense that looked a lot more solid than it did on Wednesday.
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The US suffered its sixth-straight loss in Costa Rica 3-1 on Wednesday night in a game that was not as close as the score indicated!
With goals 82 seconds into the match and then in the 13th minute, this was a relatively easy World Cup qualifying victory for Costa Rica. It was the worst qualifying result for the USA since their 3-0 defeat at Costa Rica on Oct. 8. 2005. With the loss the U.S. (2-1-1, seven points) dropped into second place in the CONCACAF hexagonal behind the Ticos (3-1-1, 10). The USA will face what is now close to a must-win situation against Honduras in Chicago on Saturday.
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USA, currently top of the final six-team hexagonal in North, Central American and Caribbean qualifying, travel to Costa Rica tonight in a world cup qualfying game.
The Costa Ricans, undergoing an astonishing revival since the appointment of coach Rodrigo Kenton, are second in group play, playing some of their finest football in years and have never lost to the United States on their own home soil. The Estadio Saprissa in San Jose is bound to rocking on Wednesday night as the hometown Ticos, currently a point behind the States, have the opportunity to leap-frog the Americans into top spot place with a win.
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