Next game is 6/3 at Costa Rica.

Big game tomorrow on ESPN2. GO TEAM USA!

Sucks to lose 3-1 at Costra Rica but we will bounce back vs Honduras this weekend.

Big win for the USA over Spain!
Spain outshot the US 29-9, but we pull out the game 2-0!

I'm sort of hoping USA will face Brazil in the final so they won't have a letdown, which they might against South Africa.

Defending Brazil's bigger and stronger strikers takes different tactics than those used against Spain, and Kaka is that rarest of rarities in Soccer, a really good right footer who plays well on the left side and who is big, but he has not always gotten the attention from big defenders that he deserves.

South Africa will be up for this game and feel less pressure than the Brazilians. They can probably field a team that matches Brazil for size if not individual talent - which no one in the world can do with Brazil in my opinion.

So SA's motivation will be a big factor for them.

On another note. This review of the game claims that "In the end, the Spanish players left the field without the customary exchange of jerseys." I thought I saw one exchange that was symbolic of the game and the respect USA earned.

Maybe I'm wrong but did anyone else see Fernando Torres in a compression shirt after he exchanged jerseys with Oguchi Onyewu? Or maybe they just took them off to hug better. Or did I dream it ?

Edit to add: Be careful what you wish for, eh. Brazil looked vulnerable against a small but scrappy Bafana Bafana but Daniel Alves bender worthy of Beckham was too hot coming off a fresh right foot.

Sunday just got very interesting. The streak of 35 loseless games, ended there by USA, tied Spain with Brazil for the record. Now USA face the co-holder of that record. Be still my beating heart.

Yeah, we were in Sedona watching the game @ the sports bar in our hotel. Pretty exciting for the US.

Did you happen to notice whether there was a shirt exchange between Oyewu and Torres SCT? Besides the prurient interest, I thought that was a huge compliment coming from one of the best strikers in the world.

Torres is one hell of an all around player. I noticed he was the only one who spotted Altidore left alone in Spains backfield and rushed from who knows how far away to try to stop his goal.

Spain is brilliant tactically and I think depending on the off-sides call is one way they compensate for having smaller defenders on average. Torres must have realized their error getting too far forward of Altidore faster than anyone.

I also noticed a flagrant shirt-pull (I think it was on Altidore) by one of the Spanish players, something they are not nearly as good at getting away with as say, the Italians, who have made it such an art-form that they tried to get away with wearing tighter jerseys to prevent other teams from returning the favor (not to mention that the players are understandbly vain about there ripped torsos). But that time they did.

I think it may have been Cap de Villa, which would suggest just how frustrated the Spaniards were. He and Altidore are teammates in Spain and exchanged e-mails both before and after the game.

Cap de Villa apparently teased Altidore about his poor Spanish but was quick to congratulate him afterwards.

No I didn't. Dang, did I miss something?

Right after the game the bartender suggested we visit "the 4 vortexes" in Sedona so we missed the post-game stuff. At first I took the notion of vortexes w/ a grain of salt until I visited these breathtaking places. And trust me, photos cannot capture their beauty cuz they're so massive w/ such depth in [red rock] color. In many instances they can cover a 360 or even a 180 degree visual span. So you have to take photos in "pieces," so to speak.

Cathedral Rock

Part of Airport Mesa

Bell Rock

Boynton Canyon

At any rate...

Maybe we'll see some eye candy in today's final. Although I may have to dvr it since we have errands to run this morn/afternoon.

Just got back from running errands. Wow! 2-nil so far. Go USA!

Just turned on the TV and it's the last 5 minutes of the first half. USA is leading Brazil 2-0, despite Brazil's 10 shots on goal (to the USA's 4 shots), and 59% possession of the ball.

Edit: Brazil has now scored. USA lead 2-1.

Edit: Brazil scores the equalizer in the 74th minute. 2-2.

Brazil scores again! 85th minute header off of a corner kick. Brazil 3-2.

It could have very very easily been 6 or 7-2. The US goalkeeper was brilliant. The first half was pretty much the US half, the second half was ALL Brazil. The US was on defense for most of this half and only occasionally would get the ball down in Brazils end. US played well, but Brazil poured it on in the second half, and I do mean, POURED it on. Came close though.

Yeah, I thought, "This sux!"

As painful as it was to see that final goal (I missed all the others, choosing to see the cheaper matinee of "Little Ashes" instead"), I have to admit it was amazing to watch the rainbow of skin color as the Brazilians piled up for the Cup photo shoots and swapped spit on the trophy.

USA have nothing but pride to feel in the exuberance that Brazil showed in winning over a team that not a generation ago was dismissed by even the smallest Central or South American country as soccer-illiterate.

Now we have to expect a higher level of awareness of what this team can do.

Unfortunately we are making that progress mostly on defense. Offensive talent like Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey are still all too rare in USA soccer.

That will change if soccer continues to gain in popularity within the USA.

As for me, I'm now looking forward to an increase in international-level soccer coming to Philadelphia more than ever.

Absolutely right!



That's one thing I've always loved about watching the Brazilians play futbol over the years. Their talent has impressed me defensively & offensively. & they're usually loaded w/ more than able players (ie one replacement of a player during a game really doesn't effect the team that much). & more than anything, their style of playing the game should be used as a template by the US. They show the world how the game can be played--w/ lots of finesse! One can only stand back in awe while watching them. Kudos to Brazil!

One drawback may be the casual racism still all too common in European fandom, and sometimes even from the players.

That may also have played a part in Torres gesture to Onyewu after the game. Great players of character will distance themselves from that sort of thing when they've personally known a player who has suffered from it.

I think the same thing could happen in soccer sooner than in other sports if it becomes more popular here. Our history with race makes us more sensitive race-based taunting than Europeans who never had plantations of black slaves on the continent.

This was a really good game, and the U.S. should be proud of themselves because they truly dominated the first half of the game.

Even though I am a Brasil fan (for the exact same reasons that SCTrojan listed), I still rooted for my home country.

Wow JK! I, too, usually root for Brasil. &, yes, when they play the US then my loyalty is w/ our boys!

The game between USA and Mexico in Azteca stadium tomorrow is more important for the history and the rivalry than the standing in Cup qualification. USA is likely to qualify for SA in 2010 win or lose and Mexico, though they will have a much more difficult time doing it, could qualify win or lose.

But they have only lost once in history at home in a Cup qualification match - to Costa Rica in 2004. They've never lost to the USA in Azteca.

A big factor has been the altitude. There is very little to do to prepare for it. Some teams have actually used oxygen on the sidelines to help players recover. USA is trying a different tactic this year of practicing in Miami and arriving the day before the game instead of practicing at altitude in Mexico. Risky but apparently they have good medical advice that this might leave them less fatigued.

The downside is that the sudden altitude change the night before may prevent them from sleeping well due to headaches. Are sleep aids allowed? Maybe they should sleep in Hollywood-style oxigen chambers that slowly reduce the level to what they will play at as they sleep.

Whatever. BTW The stadium is known for Maradona's "Hand of God" goal for Argentina against England. Maybe thinner air will mean less pollution as well. High elevation. High on drugs. High on pollution. They could need the "Hand of God".