United States Defeats Spain to Advance to Final Of Confederations Cup

The United States will be exposed against Spain. No way they can beat the #1 ranked team in the world. What else was there to say?

The U.S. defeated Spain 2-0 to advance to the final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Now the U.S. will play Sunday, June 28th at 2:30 p.m. ET against the winner of the Brazil vs. South Africa semifinal match today. The final will be the first EVER for the U.S. men’s national team in a FIFA competition.

The U.S. finally found the attitude they needed in this tournament in their last two games. A squad that was deservedly criticized for poor form through their first two matches has remade itself for the most important stretch of the tournament.

Bob Bradley’s team opened the game with their heels on fire. The Yanks attacked Spain with tenacity, commitment and conviction. A bicycle attempt by American forward Charlie Davies alerted the Spanish the Americans were ready for a fight.

Two minutes later, Clint Dempsey nearly got on the score sheet as he ripped a low drive from the top of the 18-yard box only to miss by a few feet. The offensive awareness possessed by Sam’s Army was a complete reversal of what had been seen against Italy and Brazil.

Jozy Altidore initiated the scoring with his goal in the 27th minute and Dempsey contributed his second goal in as many games in the 74th to serve Spain their first loss since November of 2006.

Carlos Bocanegra, the U.S. captain, returned to the lineup but not at his normal position next to Oguchi Onyewu. Instead, Bocanegra played at his normal club position, left back. This allowed the central pairing of Oguchi Onyewu and Jay Demerit, who have formed a solid duo, to remain intact against the potent Spanish attack.

Altidore’s goal came after Charlie Davies fed Dempsey on the left flank, who split two defenders with a pass to Altidore. Jozy made light work of his Villareal teammate Joan Capdevila by shielding him from the ball and ripped a shot off of Spanish keeper Iker Casillas’ right hand.

The goal for Altidore was very appropriate considering his struggles to find playing time for in Spain this season, whether it was Villareal or Xerez.

Spain controlled possession for nearly the entire second half. However, in the 73rd minute American midfielder Benny Feilhaber worked his way to the Spanish box and slipped a seeing eye ball to Landon Donovan.

Donovan served a low cross into the box, which was mishandled by Sergio Ramos. Clint Dempsey pounced on the opportunity and finished between Ramos’ legs.

A late challenge by Michael Bradley saw the coach’s son sent off with a red card. Bradley will be unavailable to take the field Sunday.

The United States “parked the bus” late in the game in order to preserve their spacing and defensive assignments. This stymied the Spanish attack and helped close the game.

What next? Most likely the U.S. will have a rematch against a Brazil side that defeated the U.S. 3-0 only last week. Something tells me the Yanks will be able to put on a better show than that.

Player Ratings

Tim Howard, 8 - Howard stopped everything the likes of Fernando Torres and David Villa could throw at him. He also chose well when to come out of his goal to help his defense. A shutout against Spain validates him as one of the top 10 keepers in the world.

Jonathan Spector, 7 - Spector once again shut down the wing play of the opponent. Seldom did he have opportunities to advance into the attack but his need was to protect his keeper and he did just that.

Oguchi Onyewu, 8 - Onyewu extended his stellar tournament. He was never beaten on a header, disposed of Torres and Villa well and was quick to offer help if his fellow defenders got into trouble.

Jay Demerit, 7 - Teamed well with Onyewu to shut down Torres and Villa. Demerit tackled with confidence and purpose.

Carlos Bocanegra, 7.5 - Showed again why he is the U.S. captain by playing the full 90+ minutes in his first appearance in three games due to a hamstring injury.

Clint Dempsey, 8.0 - Genuinely contributed to the attack with his assist to Altidore for the first goal and added his own goal with great anticipation.

Ricardo Clark, 7 - Clark’s first priority in this match was defense and he tackled efficiently the entire match.

Michael Bradley, 7.5 - Bradley was experiencing a dominant performance before his late red card. The tackle deserved a yellow card but red seemed questionable.

Landon Donovan, 7.5 - His contribution to the defense was immeasurable. Donovan took command of leading the exchange from the defense to the forwards.

Charlie Davies, 7 - Provided a great spark to start the game but was the first starter to come off the field.

Jozy Altidore, 7.5 - Altidore showed great positioning for his first goal by shielding his defender and finished well. His first touch continues to improve and is getting more comfortable with his back to the goal.

Subs

Benny Feilhaber, 6 - Was instrumental in the buildup of the second goal. Feilhaber also provided good energy off the bench.

Conor Casey, 5 - Held the ball adequately and hustled well.

Jonathan Bornstein, 4 - Entered the game too late to make any kind of impact.