Snooze Express Towards South Africa

Thanks to Ricardo Clark's stunning outward bender, the United States took all three points in Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday night, moving temporarily to the top of the CONCACAF qualifying table and coming to the verge of qualification for World Cup 2010.

The game was about as non-descript of a crucial win as you'll find, with ultra-homeless-looking Clint Dempsey's otherwise lackluster play the most remarkable aspect of the 1-0 American win. Luckily for the Yanks, Dempsey crossed a ball that Landon Donovan fed to Ric, who pounded home the game's lone goal.

The States win guarantees them no less than the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff, which pits the No. 4 seed from the former against the No. 5 seed from the latter for one of the final World Cup slots.

I don't know if I can stay up any later, but in the 63rd minute, both the Mexico/Honduras and El Salvador/Costa Rica matches are scoreless. My calculations say we should hope to El Salvadorian and Honduran victories. I'll update everything else tomorrow (or tonight when I punish my morning my staying up).

So Good, He's Gotta Go

It's just not funny anymore. Landon Donovan is so much faster, smarter and -- well -- better than the majority of Major League Soccer. He has 10 goals this year in just 17 games with the Galaxy, and has added five assists. During most L.A. games I've seen, he's been the most dynamic player on the field, including David Beckham.

The problem is the breakaway goal he scored Wednesday night against the Chicago Fire. Donovan used a blazing run through the Fire defense to eventually poke a ball past Jon Busch, but in most good leagues that play doesn't happen. There's a small chance the well-timed run works, but no premier goalkeeper is going to allow Donovan the powerful and sloppy first touch, and they certainly wouldn't sit on the line, refusing to cut off Lando's angle (not to say Busch is a slob).

So when I write that Donovan must go overseas when the MLS season ends, it is with a selfish motive. I need the States to be good in the World Cup, and while -- even as a TFC season ticket holder -- I would love to see him time and again in person, tormenting the opposition,he's gotta move on.

If England manager Fabio Capello is demanding Beckham move back to Europe after the MLS campaign to keep his game sharp, then Donovan must as well. Assuming the Yanks get their act together and qualify for South Africa, imagine the States in the semis against Italy, and Donovan on a breakaway. It's hard to believe Wednesday's effort works against Gianluigi Buffon.

Wouldn't it be slick to see Landon Donovan working the wings with Clint Dempsey at Fulham, warming up for the World Cup on a club that's been kind to Americans? Maybe back to Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach, where he can work with Michael Bradley, or England's Hull, partnering with Jozy Altidore (not to mention non-Yank Stephen Hunt)?

He doesn't have to play alongside a Yank, or on a Champions League club, but there's no question Donovan will head somewhere to play. If he doesn't, it will be a major disappointment, homesickness or not.

Pride and Going Forward: States fall in Final

There are a lot of bridesmaids in world soccer. Take the World Cup, for example, a tournament which only seven teams have won. If you toss in the Confederations Cup, only two more nations are added.

This, of course, is little consolation to the average American hoping to grasp onto soccer, and of just a bit more to the established US Soccer fan. That the Yanks played brave soccer against a team that hadn't lost in 15 matches is worth contemplating. For three games, the States were a fine representation of the guts and class America wants out of its athletes, and it's important to remember that they had nice stretches in the two red-card-aided losses to Italy and Brazil.

Again, heathens will point to the shot disadvantage, wantonly ignoring that the American side went up 2-0 and chose to defend rather than continue attacking. The philosophy is the real thing to question here, but this was America's first dance in a FIFA Final, and we learned plenty. The States stepped up and continued to attack in the first 30 seconds of the second half, but you can argue that they played their soccer too guarded after Brazil's counter stunned them one minute in. Expect them to learn from this, though I'd argue they were simply outclassed in the final half.

Against a Brasilian Selecao with top-club starters on their bench, the Yanks came out fearless and brought true athletic valor to their play. It was brilliant, albeit short-lived, and you simply have to be excited for the States' expected return trip to South Africa in 2010.

So if you're asking me, feel free to sound the vuvuzela and salute your soccer team, States. Even FIFA's recap used the adjective "brave" to describe the inner strength of the red, white and blue. From the Egypt game onward, they showed a refusal to stop fighting, and even an error-filled half-hour in the final shouldn't tarnish your pride. It simply isn't choking against a team like Brazil, and shame on you if you want to label this runnes-up finish that way.

The goals:

-- States 1, Brazil 0 -- Clint Dempsey with a creative side kick off a beautiful Jonathan Spector cross, and how far have we come from Game One of this tournament, when Spector appeared to be outclassed and Dempsey a passenger. Dempsey still had little to offer defensively, and that's something to speak of moving forward, but not right now.

-- States 2, Brazil 0 -- Charlie Davies left-footed pass on a long 1-2 was splendid, and Donovan's touch to shoot looked awkward but was wonderful. His left-footed side-panel rip was pretty, and he was celebrating before it was in. True strikers know those sorts of things.

-- States 2, Brazil 1 -- Brazil counters the States early attack with terrific transition play, and Luis Fabiano makes a brilliant turn before blasting a ground rip through Jay DeMerit's legs and past Tim Howard.

-- The "non-goal" -- How Kaka's 59th minute effort inside the six wasn't called a goal is kinda absurd, but that's a tough call to make. If the official had called it a goal, there is no way we could argue against it, either.

-- States 2, Brazil 2 -- One of the few time we can criticize Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu, and it's the worst time for the States. Bocanegra whiffed on a potential clear -- though of course slow motion makes it look easier than it would've been -- and Gooch wrongly assumed Howard would snag the Elano's blast, and let Fabiano step in front. At this point, it was hard to envision the Yanks coming back.

-- Brazil 3, States 2 -- The US' spot kick bugaboo is their undoing. Lucio gets over Dempsey, who apparently thought he was marking a small child. A great header, a perfect header, a heartbreaking header.

The stars, and the criticism...

-- Tim Howard was named goalkeeper of the tournament, and how could any player possibly be chosen as better class. As early as the 12th minute Howard was responsible for keeping US hopes afloat with a wonderful save of a Robinho strike.

-- It would be too dramatic to call Jay DeMerit's play a "revelation," but the 15-times capped American used the Conf. Cup to exhibit the skills, smarts and leadership that lead him to be named captain of Watford, a second-tier team in England. Even if Brazil's first goal came through his legs, he's a tough nut to crack, and the Spector/Boca/Gooch/DeMerit backline is quality.

-- Landon Donovan, a.k.a. PK Lando, responded brilliantly after a miserable couple of games, and you can be genuinely proud of the American star. While he'll need to show it consistently, No. 10 showed himself to be a world class talent, and his "it's me" moment while touching the US crest on his kit after goal No. 2 is worth noting.

--Kaka truly looked like the best player in the world. Charlie Davies' 54th minute bear hug coverage of the Brazilian star on a free kick is emblematic of the respect the new Real Madrid player deserves.

-- The difference in depth was underscored when Daniel Alves entered. The Barcelona man was outstanding in so many ways after entering in the 66th minute.

-- Onyewu came so close to equalizing in the 87th minute off a Donovan corner.

-- I do not understand the Bob Bradley's Conor Casey obsession, even in the absence of Brian Ching. He hasn't done much for me yet.

-- I like John Harkes as a color man. I don't get the hate.

-- Sometimes Landon Donovan makes faces that make him look like Hilary Swank.

-- Night soccer is stunning in HD.

What's next...

The next time the novice fan sees the States team, he will see the equivalent of a "C" team, but this will not be mentioned by mass media. Only seldom-used subs Freddy Adu and Luis Robles, as well as new star striker Charlie Davies, will be in the fold for the Gold Cup. It's a shame because a nice run in that tournament will be pretty impressive, and losses understandable, but those bitter 40-year old men terrified of losing their jobs will have precious little patience.

US Gold Cup dates (all LIVE on Fox Soccer Channel):
July 4- vs. Grenada at Qwest Field in Seattle (6 p.m. EST)
July 8- vs. Honduras at RFK Stadium in Washington (9 p.m. EST)
July 11- vs. Haiti at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro (7 p.m. EST)

P.S. I love the Lionel Messi commercial, even if I don't think it makes much sense. The Atomic Ant!

Soccer gets in the way of soccer

Give a moment of angst-explanation before I preview this afternoon's contest, please.

I have had zero complaints up to this point about my appointment as play-by-play voice of the Buffalo Flash, the local womens professional soccer club. They generally win, and I have a tremendous time calling the game with former Rutgers player Oliver Petersen, an Arsenal supporter and Brit by birth.

That was until today, when America's lack of true love for soccer has kicked me square in "The Family Matters." In many nations, the 3 p.m. kickoff for the Flash and Hamilton Avalanche (televised Monday and Tuesday on TW-13 in WNY) would be move so the soccer-adoring public could watch their national team battle traditional power Brazil.

In this case, however, the Flash have no true reason to touch the start time -- their 300-500 fans are more folks that come out for local soccer than anything since the Buffalo Blizzard played their brand of indoor madness at the Aud years ago, and these casual red, white and blue supporters can DVR their little hearts out.

My British cohort will be doing the same, but I can't wait that long. I will need to get text updates from my teammates, who will be watching the game together while I broadcast. Then, I'll have to hear about the game for a couple more hours while my mens team, Baker's City FC, tries to score a second major upset in a row. Finally, after a beer or two, at 9 p.m., I can sit down to watch what could be up for debate as the greatest moment in the history of American soccer.

In no way am I complaining about being paid money to watch soccer. C'est la vie. Go States!

--- As for the FINAL... ---

As for this afternoon's Confederations Cup final, I'm going to take the easy way out and say that while I generally do believe in miracles, losing Michael Bradley to a wrongly-given red card is going to give the US even more fits than usual when it comes to the 2 p.m. kickoff. Kaka and Luis Fabiano have a certain chance to give the US defense fits, and Bradley's absence will help nothing.

For the States to win, they will need more superior marking from Carlos Bocanegra, and another fabulous game from Oguchi Onyewu. Expecting Tim Howard to play mistake-free has become a near-certainty. You never say never after Wednesday, but I'd prefer to see the Yanks refuse to run with Brazil early, and attempt to dictate some of the pace, which would be a more-than-minor victory in itself.

Then again, if the US put up a performance like no other they've done offensively, and Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan both played unparalleled in ball movement, this could be a high-numbered classic. If you forced me to select an outcome, it'd look something like this:

Brazil strikes about 25 minutes in after a decent "feeling-out" period, with the world's No. 5 team surprised to see a different States team than they faced a week ago. They strike again 10 minutes later, but the US answers just after half. Trailing 2-1, the Americans have a handful of second half chances, but Brazil pokes one home with under 10 to go to claim the hardware with a 3-1 victory.

Needless to say, I hope I'm horribly incorrect.

--- Third place game thoughts ---

Barring late dramatics, you can't say enough for the South African performance, mostly of their team, but also of their supporters. I am firmly committed to trying to find the economic means to send my wife and me to next summer's World Cup, to see at least one States game and one other match.

On the winner... Xabi Alonso's shot was good, but it would not have scored had South African keeper Khune not had to account for Llorente's attempted elbow deflection. There's nothing you could do to legislate this without getting an official killed, but it's unfortunate for the hosts. Still, fourth place sounds like a coup for them, even if it simply means they outclassed Iraq and New Zealand. As I pointed out in the Cup preview post, I felt RSA would be able to use the home field to their advantage, and their No. 72 FIFA world ranking was slightly better than Iraq and NZ.

Comment away!

On To The Finals!

Four pints of Guinness were totally expected for Wednesday afternoon's Confederations Cup clash between No. 1 Spain and No. 14 USA. I just expected them to come in misery, not to stave off nerves as myself and several friends bounced up and down at a local establishment (Coles) in anticipation of one of the greatest upsets in US Soccer history.

Yes, the Yanks knocked up Spain, 2-0, to reach the Confederations Cup Final, but it's so much more than that. The States ended a 35-game Spanish unbeaten streak. The Spaniards had won each of their last 15 matches. They had been ranked No. 1 in the world for over a year.

The States? Not-so-much. They needed a miracle to reach the semi-final, but everything worked their way, beginning with Jozy Altidore hammering a ball right at Iker Casillas that hit the Spanish keeper's hand before going in to make it 1-0 less than a third of the way in. Clint Dempsey's 74th minute made it all but certain the States would become the first team since the 2006 Romania squad to top Spain (by the way, huge thanks to Sergio Ramos for trapping a ball in his own six).

But, it was what happened in between and after those tallies that mattered. The States sold their selves for the ball. They draped themselves on Fernando Torres, and made sure any ball that got to unbeatable Tim Howard was saveable. Pick a player, and they made an outstanding play: Landon Donovan, Ricardo Clark, Michael Bradley, etc. Even Bob Bradley's sub choices were outstanding, particularly in the face of a "red for red's sake" from the officials late in the goings.

They played with panache -- Charlie Davies almost opened the scoring with an absurd attempted bicycle. They played with guts. They played with everything you want in an American side. Every Yank fan can be proud of their boys today, regardless of what happens Sunday.

And to make the day complete... fat babies on Maury!

So much for moral victories! States to Semis!

Sound the Vuvuzela, as the buzzing will continue for American soccer in the face of everything improbable. The States needed to win by three and have Brazil win by three, which is stupid enough before you consider that the Amerks have looked nothing shy of crap for the first two games of group play in the Confederations Cup.

Leaving my house for men's league's pitch at 3:30 p.m., I planned to write the somewhat moral victory post around, well, now. The US was up 1-0 at half, and Brazil was demoralizing Italy by a 3-0 score. Yet texts began to roll into our team during the game, and as we topped our opponents, 3-0, the United States did the same.

I'm watching it now, knowing what's coming, and I'm buzzing. As previously posted, Charlie Davies' first goal, digging deep in the six and wresting a ball off of Egypt's keeper, was the sort of goals the States have to score, blue collar and no bull----.

The next two goals were also things the US needed. Seeing Michael Bradley rewarded for a stellar tournament despite nothing from his fellow midfielders is fantastic, and, yes, full marks for PK Lando on a wonderful low-pass. As much as I can't stand Bob Bradley lately, the look on his face when his son put in No. 2 was downright stars and stripes. It was Michael Bradley's second-straight goal on Father's Day, with his father behind the lines.

The third and final tally was needed, too, as Fulham's Clint Dempsey had been anything but stellar in the first two contests before turning it on the first half. His strong heading finish of a Jonathan Spector cross sent the Yanks into ecstasy, and they held on for an unlikely trip to the semi-finals to meet Spain.

How unlikely is this? Borderline impossible... and it comes on a day I actually scored in our team's game, which truly shows you how the stars were aligned.

Full marks to Brad Guzan for the clean sheet, but this was without Tim Howard and Carlos "Charlie Blackmouth" Bocanegra.

This is a fine day for US soccer, a day that no one can take away from us, regardless of what happens against Spain in Wednesday afternoon's Stage Two. We'll be at a bar. If you're near Buffalo, come find us (or just email).

And it wouldn't be fun if we didn't ask Giuseppe Rossi how he feels about the whole thing.

I don't care if Giuseppe Rossi is emotional...

Endeavoring to populate this new blog... We'll get a preview of the Confederations Cup before it goes down, but Monday's kick-off and the Jermaine Jones story bring the dual citizen issue to the forefront.

The United States will face Italy on Monday in South Africa, and come face-to-face with an expatriot, if that isn't too cruel a term. Giuseppe Rossi, the 5'8" Villarreal striker, was born to Italian immigrants in New Jersey and spent his first 13 years in the United States. His mom was a teacher at a NJ high school, while his father coached soccer there.

At 13, he was good enough to go overseas, and his family moved to Italy. Rossi went on to play for Manchester United, Newcastle and Parma before moving to La Liga.

He never made a secret of his desire to play for Italy, and indeed chose the Azzurri over his birth nation when the time came to call a country. The Italians are a national team he felt -- rightly so -- had a much richer tradition and passion for the game than the States. I get it, but his path since then has felt anything but clean, including telling America he'd play for the States if they included him in the 2006 World Cup squad. Essentially, it was two-sided: hope for Sam's Army and a threat to Italy's higher-ups.

Maybe it's wrong, but when I read that Rossi roots for the United States, I think "Take a hike, pal." He's said Monday's game will be emotional for him. Terrific. I'll be emotional thinking that perhaps Landon Donovan would give a little more if you were pushing him. Perhaps he'd net a goal that wasn't in the waning moments or a PK earned by another player. Maybe he'd find a way to play off of Clint Dempsey a little better.

I'm not blind: I know Freddy Adu moved here when he was 8, and that a great many of American nationals have parents from outside the States.

So yes, I'm a little bitter, and I won't be pulling for Rossi come Monday.