U.S. Men's Soccer Team Takes Second in Confederations Cup

After a thrilling and unlikely first half lead, the US men's soccer team lost 3-2 to Brazil in the FIFA Confederations Cup final today at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. For an American soccer enthusiast abroad like myself, it was crushing to watch our modest home team come so close to beating the juggernaut that is Brazil, only to lose in the last minutes of the game. As a cruelly accurate banner one South African football fan was holding read, "USA, no you can't."

The United States played a largely defensive game despite scoring two elegant goals in the first 30 minutes of the match, with Brazil taking 28 shots on goal total compared to only eight for the Americans. For 74 giddy minutes of play Brazil's dominance in attacks and possession of the ball didn't seem to matter, as the United States' defense doggedly shut down plays by Brazil's star forwards Kaka and Fabiano. The loyalty of the crowd began to shift from Brazil to the United States in the stadium, with one fan near me excitedly blurting out "Obama"! As another South African fan had explained to me earlier, "we're mainly for Brazil, but it's okay with us if the United States wins, because they're the underdog."

The top of U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu's head was arguably the star of much of the game; a half a dozen times at least, Onyewu dove to head away a dangerous shot or cross. Goalkeeper Tim Howard was everywhere he needed to be, and exuded upbeat confidence that seemed to keep the whole team going, offering low-key high fives to his teammates after they cleared the ball. Near the end of the first half, after a breakaway by Andre Santos seemed sure to end in a goal for Brazil, Howard made a brilliant point-blank save.

But Brazil kept the attacks coming in the second half of the game, and they wore the United States down. In just the first minute of the second half, Brazilian forward Fabiano turned, shot, and scored in one brilliant fluid movement. After that Brazil seemed to find its strength as the United States lost energy and confidence. Howard gave up two more goals, none of which he could have prevented, and what could have been the United States' greatest win became a respectable loss. Clint Dempsey, who scored the first goal of the game for the United States, was in tears as he accepted a bronze individual award for outstanding play.

There's no shame in loosing to Brazil 3-2, and their second place finish in the Confederations Cup was still an upset of sorts for the United States. Now, if only the team can figure out how to mount a real offense before the 2010 World Cup...

Comments

[no1knows]

The telecasts of all the FIFA matches I tried to watch were overwhelmed by what I took to be a humming of the crowd. This made it unwatchable for me. I've heard this on other soccer broadcasts, but there was always a rise and fall to the hum to identify it as human sound. This sound was relentless. It was like there was a Formula One race in the stadium, with all the car engines winding at an identical rpm. If this wasn't the crowd, what was it? I couldn't be the only one who couldn't watch because of this. For the U.S. team to be winning at the highest level of international play is fantastic and should be the greatest possible boost for the sport here. It's a shame the broadcaster couldn't better filter that sound out of their audio.

[no1knows]

The telecasts of these matches were unwatchable for me. The hum of what I assumed was the crowd sounded like there was a Formula One race in the stadium. It overwhelmed the announcers. It was the same on every broadcast I tried to watch, whether the U.S. was playing or not. I'm kind of curious as to what it was, if not the crowd. I've watched a fair amount of soccer over the years and I've heard sound like that to a lesser degree on occasion, but it always rose and fell and was inescapably human. These FIFA games were an inhuman solid high-rev buzz [kill]. Its a shame if the sound caused others not to watch, too. There is nothing better for promoting the sport in America than a winning U.S. team at that level o0f international play.

[blogattelle]

usa challenger real: you can be proud of your team

[Gewyne]

Surprising - so few people chose to congratulate the US. 1 small article on Huff Post and just 3 comments, rather shameful after all the hardwork and effort the team have put intot his competition.

[Firbolg]

Great game and kudos to the US team for getting to the final. I was hoping for a draw as I felt that Tim Howard would be in his element for penalty goals, but Brazil has deep, deep roots in soccer and showed this in the second half. We're gettiing there, and combination of good coaching and players experience abroad is paying off. Looking forward to the World cup with added expectation now!

[Gewyne]

Was a great game of flowing attacking football by Brazil and stout soild defending by the USA. When the first half ended 2-0 tot he US it seemed in the bag - the US defence just did not look breachable.
I like the fact the coach has left out some fo the US usual names and made some changes for this tournament - I cannot help feeling that sticking with the same old, same olds can be detrimental to teams sometimes and wiping the team rosta clean and starting from scratch clearly worked.

Good luck in the 2010 World cup -

[PlaceboStudman]

This was truly an amazing showing all around. Everyone played well, even through mistakes and missed opportunities. More important than the win or loss is the fact that we showed the world that we can consistently play with the "big boys" and hold our own. Anyone who truly follows international soccer can't be too disappointed with our showing today. We showed promise and skill and composure against undoubtedly more skilled teams including Spain and Italy. We held our own, and even with the blow outs, showed resilience that we can come back from the brink of failure to make a name for ourself as a team and show the world that we aren't going to be the world's joke when it comes to the world's game any longer

[Ish11]

America I believe we will win the world cup 2010!