Fairytale movie at hand as USA qualify
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“We knew the odds were slim. We just tried to score as many goals as possible. Luckily enough the result in the Italy-Brazil game went our way” was man of the match Clint Dempsey’s response after his sides emphatic 3-0 win over Egypt in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
The win means that the USA qualified for the semifinals of the tournament ahead of the current World Champions, Italy, who coincidently lost 3-0 to Brazil in the groups other game on the night.
Ironically enough, the string of results throughout Group B is like something out of a classic, fairytale, American movie: The USA lost their first two games conceding six goals in total.
Only a large scale win over Egypt and a very unlikely hammering of Italy by Brazil would see them qualify for the next round. And when the side seemed like they had no chance, everything fell into place and they played some extraordinary football to win by three clear goals over the Pharaohs.
Dempsey further substantiated this fairytale result when he said with a broad smile “Our team has always had a fighting mentality. We will always go to the very end and the win tonight says a lot about us.”
And it is certainly not over for the Americans who now have to face the best team in the world when they take on Spain in the semifinals on Wednesday evening in Bloemfontein. The Fulham midfielder is fully aware of this, “We still know there is a lot of work to be done and we are prepared to do what we have to in order to succeed.”
If the Americans play anything like they did tonight they will definitely stand a fighting chance against the Spaniards. Landon Donovan and Dempsey were phenomenal in the midfield often cutting up the Egyptian defence with some great through balls. Donovan in particular was superb as he led his team from the front with his hard work ethic and defense splitting passes, one which resulted in the second goal.
In defence the Americans were held strong by Oguchi Onyewu who is the heart of the defence and poses an ominous figure for any attacker. Onyewu is particular good when crosses come into the box as he often towers above his opponents to head the ball away from danger.
Egypt, on the other hand, looked a shadow of the team that upset the World Champions three days earlier. They seemed worn out and tired. “The two matches against Brazil and Italy took their toll on us. We gave it all against those opponents and the players were fatigued for this match. We also had a number of injuries and had to replace certain players” was the assistant coach, Shawky Gharib’s, excuse after the match.
It was a poor performance from the African Champions who showed their capabilities against both Brazil and Egypt, but for now it is back to the drawing board for them and their struggle of trying to qualify for the 2010 World Cup continues.
