I'm hoping to see the Spanish side play all in blackface, with Mandela on their jerseys.

Also: sweetness seeing Italy knocked out. They should have gone down in '06 World Cup "Group of Death" (Italy, Czech, USA, Ghana)*, but alack, they played best when counted out.



*Also contending in '06 for that title, the pod with Argentina, Netherlands, Serbia-Montenegro, &... (Can't recall -- maybe South Korea?)

I think you're underestimating the impact of losing the best American athletic talent to other sports here.

The bottom line is that most parents simply don't pass on that learned enthusiasm with regards to soccer that other countries do. We pass on love of football, baseball, basketball, for the most part. We also lose world class talent that was born here to the "motherland". See: Rossi from the Italian team.

Not to mention how little TV support there is for it here and the fact that the World Cup is only once in 4 years.

Even with all those obstacles I think the US is lots better than it was even 20 years ago. They're currently a 2nd tier team that can occasionally rise up and tie or even beat a 1st tier team. I think that's progress.

I actually think as the US continues to become more and more diverse we could eventually field a team that could compete for a World Cup. I think we're still a generation away.

I saw this on ESPN yesterday and was utterly amazed. We looked like absolute poo against Brazil and against Italy after going a man down. Egypt looked great all the way. And yet we get this result. How bouts a little consistency, boys. If we stay with 2 of Spain, I'll be happy.

if incentive money (salaries, sponsorship) was as great as the US-bred sports you listed above i think there'd be a greater interest in soccer.

also, have there been other US-based players like Rossi who've opted to play for their parents' native country? i know some african country was trying to get adu way back when, but i've never heard of this before.

saved, egypt did not look like the same team vs italy, brazil. absolute garbage yesterday. they thought they were going to walk all over us. and so did i. we haven't been this fortunate to advance since the '02 WC.

Egypt was missing a few key folks (Zidan, Zaki, Mido), but at least the US took care of business

One of the guys on Around the Horn just said something about the Egyptian team being robbed by prostitutes a few days before the game.
Loller.

open wide for some soccer lol

Anyone watching this?

I am. Pretty crazy.

holy shit

can they hold on for 10 mintues. SPain has looked quite a bit better but the US made the best of their opportunities. Name of the game i guess.

HOLY SHIT!

Wish I could watch this live.

Aaaaaaaaaand, the refs are trying to take it from us.

That shit was crazy, USA beats the Worlds Best 2-0, but that really means that Brazil is most likely the Worlds Best.

i can't believe they held Spain scoreless. Quite an achievement.

Un Fucking Believeable.

And, that red card was bullshit. Clearly yellow. Will hurt not having Bradley in the final.

Whoa! Best organized defense I've ever seen a US team play. You can usually count on them to give up at least one loose goal against such a good team. Great game. Are the boys satisfied now, or can we see just as good an effort against (likely) Brazil?

Also, Altidore looked like Shaq posting up on a point guard on that first goal.

Yea, so glad I worked from home to watch this today. Amazing.

Yeah, but Spain should have had a penalty at 1-0.

The goals Spain conceded were shocking but most of the Spanish players have played 60 or so games at the very highest level this season and it was a game too far for them, the US were sharper and had more energy.

Great win by the US. I haven't seen them this on point defensively in a long time. Oguchi Onyewu was ridiculous good, he was not letting the ball thru. The US did well in allowing the long cross but every Spanish touch was with contention, it was a thing of beauty. Spain did not lose this match, the US beat them.

The red card to Bradley was a bullshit call and not having Bradley's striking power is going to hurt us a bit, but Benny Feilhaber is a good midfielder, hes smart and calm and knows how to control the ball efficiently, so it wont be such a severe loss.

BTW, I dont see this Brazil squad as being the world's best. Egypt beat Italy, that does not make Egypt a better team, it makes them a better team for that match, just like today the US was the better team for that match as well. Spain is still the number one force. Problem with Spain has ALWAYS been that they lose games when they matter... aside from these past Euros, they have always been a team with great players but little to show for it.

After watching todays game Im sure Brazil will go in and handle South Africa pretty easily.

On a side note, Im happy to see Demarcus Beasleys minutes reduced and Charlie Davies given an opportunity, hes a fantastic young forward with a big future with the US squad.

Im looking forward to rewatching this match knowing the outcome and being able to see the improvements Bradley and the squad made from their first two matches.

You really think so? As a Scotsman you know a hell of alot more about Soccer than I do, but to me, at the end of the first half, and for most of the first half really, I thought Spain looked about 6" away from breaking the thing open. They were tenacious in their passing and crossing. How many chances did they have on corners that didnt go their way? A lot. Some of those missed attempts by Torres and David Villa were very close to going in. By my count, at half it could have very easily been Spain 2-1.

I thought the US side played much better than when I saw them last. Against Brazil, who knows. I hope they play out of their minds.

So as the 14th ranked team in the world, beating the 1 ranked team, how far does that move us up? Do we get in the top 5 now?

Cant wait for next summer... would love to see USA play Netherlands. )

Wasn't US ranked ridiculously high going into Germany '06, third or fifth, or something? So, the ranking can be thrown out. But I think, fifteen years on from hosting the Cup, US soccer is on the cusp... It's taken some time, & the beautiful game will mostly likely be outstripped by NFL, NBA, & MLB for some time, but the sheer immensity of our nation-state, in both land available for sport use & population (particularly the immigrant community, save the like of Jersey Guido Rossi*), will put us among the elite in medium order. (Somewhat like China in basketball, say.)

Now, my prediction for the Confed Cup final? US 2, Brazil 1.



Hahah!



*His tears are even sweeter than when he bawled on the flight back to Newark, after Italy's elimination. US defeats Spain, & that greaseball isn't a part of it? Awesome.

My thought too... I think the future of US style is strength... lots of African Americans spending lots of time in the gym and lets squash some teams. Great great day for American soccer.

As much as he's urban, though, Jozy's an immigrant. From Haiti.

I think LooGAR just threw up in his mouth.