Not sure if you heard the news, but the US shocked the #1 national team in the World, Spain, with a 2-0 win in the semi's in the Confederations Cup. The Confederations Cup is a makeshift cup that was established a couple decades or so back, bringing in the winners of various FIFA tournaments (Euro, Gold, World Cup, etc) to one big winners tournament. As the Confederations Cup unfolded this summer, the US had a very unconvincing group stages campaign. I thought they weren't going to make it past the group, let alone past Spain, who had been playing phenomenal as of late.
All that changed today. I have to be honest, I gave the US little chance of beating the Spaniards today. I thought the difference in skill, creativity, and the Spanish's ability to hold possession would be too much for the US to control. But the US finally stepped up and played their style that brings them success. From what I heard in the commentary and watching the highlights, the boys gave it their all. They might not be as skilled as the Spanish (actually they aren't by a huge margin, see: Torres vs Dempsey, Puyol vs Bocanegra, Xavi vs. Donovan), but they relied on what gives them success: teamwork, hardwork, and solid defense.
Will this spark interest into soccer? No. Will this trend of pulling off upsets (1950 vs England, 2002 vs Portugal and Mexico) lead to a more consistent winning results vs top teams? Most likely not. But we can definitely enjoy the night. Not sure if we can pull the same effort against Brazil, but it shows the potential of the US team. We may not be the most skilled, but these guys work their tail off, and they never give up. This is the true definition of a team, who will give their hearts and bodies and throw everything on the pitch for the success of the team. Guys who will take that boot to the knee for their teammates. Guys who live and die by the whistle.
Its a shame that Bradley won't be able to play in the next game, but we can only sit back and see how far the US can go from here.
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