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USA wins first half but loses game in Confederation Final
June 29, 2009 | Tournaments | Add a comment
It was the first time the USA Men’s National Team has ever made it to a FIFA tournament final. From the start of the tournament, no one thought they’d ever make it this far. They lost 3-1 against Italy in the first game and 3-0 against Brazil in the second game.
USA needed a miracle to make it to the semifinals. Brazil had to beat Italy by at least 3 goals. USA needed to beat Egypt by at least 3 goals. And yes it happened, but for what? They had to play Spain, ranked number one in the world by FIFA in the semifinals. Well guess what? They beat Spain 2-0. But for what? Now they had to play Brazil in the final, a team they lost to 3-0 just a few games before.
Well guess what? Unfortunately, the pattern you thought was coming isn’t. No, unfortunately USA lost to Brazil 3-2 in the FIFA Confederation Final. But you know what? It’s not at all what you may have thought just by listening to the score.
If the game was only 45 minutes in length, USA would have won the final fare and square. They were leading 2-0 against Brazil at the half. Yes, I repeat USA was leading 2-0 at the half against Brazil. They played their hearts out in the first half. They showed speed, skill, vision, and confidence in their game, which ultimately was the reason why they were winning.
But at the start of the 2nd half, it all went wrong. Brazil scored their first goal within the first couple minutes. I think that took the wind out of USA’s sail. They showed some glimpses of hope at various times after that, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
To be honest, I felt that Bob Bradley made changes at the wrong time. I know that many have wanted his head throughout this entire tournament. I haven’t been one to talk him down much, but today I felt he made some mistakes.
With a 2-0 lead against a team like Brazil, you know defense is important. And with good defense comes good offense. But every time USA passed the ball up to Altidore, he couldn’t keep possession. When was Altidore taken out? When the game was tied 2-2. That was too late.
Dempsey had played a great tournament, but he was tired in the 2nd half. Again, how could USA keep possession if one of their key midfielders couldn’t run? Bradley should have made defensive substitutions early in the 2nd half, just after the first goal by Brazil was scored.
I’m proud of the USA Men’s National Team for making it to the final. I’m proud that they beat Spain 2-0 in the semifinals. I’m proud they were winning 2-0 against a team like Brazil in the final after the first half. This shows they can do it, they can compete against the big teams. Now it’s a just a matter of working on the other details in preparation for the World Cup, like winning both halves.
