US Unlikely Confederation Cup Semifinalist – Davies insertion makes immediate impact
Charlie Davies with some fine footwork blasts the ball off the Egyptian defender to carom into the net
Bob Bradley shook up the US lineup today inserting the young Charlie Davies into the starters and the move paid dividends in the 21st minute where Davies stayed persistent and jammed the ball into the net from the left side of goal. The play used some skill and a lot of heart, something the US had been missing in the games against Brazil and Italy. The US went on to defeat Egypt 3-0.
The Davies goal lifted the US team, who already had played inspired football from the kick-off, and was followed by two more unanswered US goals. Michael Bradley assisted by Landon Donovan scored in the 63rd minute and Clint Dempsey scored on a snap header served up by Jonathan Spector in the 71st.
The 3-goal win along with a 3-0 blowout of Brazil over Italy allowed the US to move into the semifinals of the tournament on goal differential. The US, Italy and Egypt all finished with 3 pts. Italy and the US ended with a -2 goal differential but the US scored more goals than Italy, with a total of 4 to Italy’s 3, so the US advanced.
“It is the first time for us we have seen this style of football. We have seen the pressure exerted by the U.S. team. This is not the way we play football. The long balls were the result of pressure by the U.S. team.” Egypt assistant coach Chawki Gharib – through a translator.
“At halftime we knew what the score was (Italy v Brazil) so we knew that by getting the third goal, if scores stayed the same, we had a chance to go through,” Dempsey said. “But during the game there wasn’t a whole lot of communication so far as the score went so we just figured, ‘Keep going and get more goals.’
“It wasn’t until I saw the reaction from the bench that I figured we were going through.”
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The US will now play the winner of Group A and the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship winner, Spain. The game will be on ESPN on Wednesday, June 24th at 1:25, CDT.
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I still can’t stop laughing.
One of my most memorable days ever being a US Soccer Fan. What a great day it was!