U.S. Stuns Spain

The United States soccer team has just pulled off an upset of epic proportions.

Forget 1950. The United States’ 2-0 stunning of Spain is undoubtedly their biggest upset of all time. Not only because they took down the world’s No. 1 team. A team that had not lost an international match in 35 tries. But because the United States shouldn’t have even made it this far in the first place. After falling to Italy and Brazil in group stage, the United States backed into the semi-finals thanks to a six goal swing with Egypt.

That didn’t matter Wednesday night at Free State, as the United States displayed the confidence of world-beaters as they bravely stood toe to toe with the world’s No. 1 team.
Starting a young squad that included Benny Feilhaber, Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark, Bob Bradley’s side faced the likes of David Villa, Fernando Torres, Carlos Puyol, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, and the list goes on.

The match began quietly, with the United States doing well to prevent Spain from finding a rhythm to their game. Both sides put several shots wide or high of the target. The first jolt came in the 27th minute when U.S. striker Clint Dempsey fed the ball to Jozy Altidore who expertly shook off Xavi with a nifty spin and put a shot at Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Casillas was caught wrong-footed and only managed to palm the ball onto the post and into the back of the net. Altidore was handed a yellow card after the goal due to excessive celebration.

Despite the early wake-up call and thanks to a brilliant reflex save by Tim Howard, Spain could not answer with a goal of their own, and went into half-time trailing 1-0. Spain applied significant more pressure during the second half, but it was overshadowed by a gutsy display of defending from the United States. The Spaniards sent shot after shot at the U.S. goal, but were turned away time and again. Cesc Fabregas’ tricky passes and David Villa’s screaming long shots were no match for Oguchi Onyewu’s, Michael Bradley’s, and Jay Demerit’s shielding frames.
Despite Spain’s desperate and powerful attempts, the United States fortress would not give.

Clint Dempsey sealed the miracle in the 74th minute. Landon Donovan poked a cross into the box that Sergio Ramos collected, albeit with an extremely poor touch. Dempsey was there to slide it past an out of position Casillas to put the final touch on the unbelievable victory.
The last 25 minutes were merely a countdown to the final whistle, with Spain making a few desperate pushes, and the U.S. content to play kick ball. However Michael Bradley of the United States was shown a red card after a studs-up tackle, which means he will miss the final match.

Unless South Africa can pull off an even more miraculous upset, the United States appears headed for a championship match showdown with Brazil, who they lost 3-0 to during pool play.
However, if the United States plays with the confidence, heart, and intensity that they displayed today, there is no telling how the match will turn out.