Well, well, well, look who has America’s attention now.
There’s nothing like a big win to get the fans back home excited, and the U.S. team’s upset of top-ranked Spain at the Confederations Cup on Wednesday night certainly qualified. The game was replayed on ESPN2 a few hours later, an honor reserved for “instant classics,” and the Chicago Tribune ran a banner listing the top five U.S. upsets across the top of Thursday’s sports page.
Even the snarky New York Post gave the team a shoutout - “SOCCER SHOCKER!” - on its back page.
“This win is huge for American soccer,” said Clint Dempsey, whose second-half goal sealed the 2-0 victory and brought a halt to Spain’s record 15-game win streak. “I’m excited about the result, and think all the fans back at home will be excited as well.”
The American men, who play Brazil on Sunday in their first-ever FIFA final, took the day off from training Thursday, traveling to Johahnnesburg.
U.S. interest in the world’s favorite game has been building slowly, and a surprise run to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup had Americans dreaming of the day when their team would equal Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England and Spain.
Since then, the Americans have struggled - on the field and to gain attention. Claudio Reyna and Brian McBride, two of their best-known players, retired following the three-and-out, first-round exit at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
In qualifying for next year’s event in South Africa, the Americans needed to rally from a two-goal deficit for a 2-2 tie at El Salvador, lost 3-1 at Costa Rica and needed to rally to beat Honduras at home - the first come-from-behind U.S. victory in a qualifier since 1985.
Coach Bob Bradley has taken much of the heat. Bradley was successful in Major League Soccer - he led the Chicago Fire to the league title in its first season - but isn’t fiery like predecessor Bruce Arena or charismatic like Juergen Klinsmann, the first choice to replace Arena.
“The press was hard on us, maybe rightfully so, but it never fazed him, it never took its toll on him,” goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “He continued to prepare the team as though he believed we could do something like we did (against Spain), and that was infectious.”
A victory like the one over Spain is the kind that can pay dividends for years to come. Whether it does will be up to the Americans.
They almost certainly will qualify for next year’s World Cup. The United States is only two points behind group leader Costa Rica, with the top three teams in the North and Central American and Caribbean region earning trips to South Africa.
