Crushing Defeat

I can’t recall ever watching a more heart breaking or rage inducing match in any sport. After waiting breathlessly for this match, I was left severely disappointed after being built up so high. The United States made it to our first ever FIFA final, after beating the top ranked team in the world with a commanding 2-0 victory. We were to face Brazil, the veritable crown princes of the sport, in the final. The match came on while I was at work. Less than 10 minutes in – the USA scores. That put a smile on my face. 14 minutes later they bag a second one, and proceed to run circles around the Brazilians for the remainder of the half. I was positively high off the excitement. I could barely contain myself at work – we were leading Brazil, the all time winningest team in international soccer history, by 2 goals at the half! We were going to win the first ever FIFA final that we had made it to!

And then the cruel hand of fate came crashing down. Brazil scored within the first minute of the second half, and at that moment, 46 minutes into the match, the USA lost. They completely lost their confidence because of that goal, and just folded entirely. Instead of aggressively pushing the attack like they had in the first half, they turtled up. They hung back and tried to play a cautious defense against Brazil, one of the all time top offensive teams in the world. The match became a slaughter. It was painful to watch. The Brazilian onslaught hammered the USA relentlessly, scoring 3 (to be fair, it should have been 4 but for the referee’s ruling) goals in the second 45 minutes.

So ended the Cinderella story of the USA national soccer team in the FIFA Confederations Cup. Through all of this, the USA can still take solace in the team’s achievements however. They beat Spain, the number 1 ranked team in the world, a team who had not lost a match in nearly 3 years, in a powerful display of force, and made it to their first ever FIFA tournament final. With the CONCACAF Gold Cup beginning at the end of the week, and the 2010 World Cup looming on the horizon, the coming days will be filled with opportunities for the United States to prove to the world that they really can play with the big boys, and that their performance last week was not merely a fluke. Still, despite the weight of the team’s accomplishments, this remains a painful loss.