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Thu, Jun 25th 2009, 12:33

US shocks top rated Spain 2-0 to advance to finals

In one of the greatest matches in U.S. Soccer history, the U.S. got goals by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey to stun No. 1-ranked Spain 2-0 and advance to the finals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. The U.S. Men’s National Team will face the winner of the other semifinal match between Brazil and South Africa in their first ever final in a FIFA tournament on Sunday, June 28 in Johannesburg.

Altidore ignited the upset with a fantastic show of strength and skill to score from the top of the 18-yard box in the 27th minute, while Dempsey surprised the Spaniards to provide the insurance goal in the 74th minute en route to earning his second consecutive ussoccer.com Man of the Match award. Tim Howard, who returned to goal after resting for the final group match against Egypt, made eight saves to match an impressive performance by the U.S. defense, which shutout Spain to snap their world record 15-game winning streak and 35-game unbeaten streak.

“For us it’s a big night,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley. “The players all work hard. We constantly talk about reaching higher and trying to accomplish new things. Spain is a team that we have the greatest respect for. They are a super team. Their ability to play, pass and move. We knew it was a challenge, but we felt that we would have a chance and that we could win this game.

“We had a real confidence that we could try to make it harder for them than some of the other teams they have play against, and we had the weapons that could cause them some trouble. We have some speed up front. We have some guys that come out of the midfield. I think that those are all things that work for us.”

The FIFA Confederations Cup final will be broadcast live at 2:25 p.m. ET live on ESPN2 and Univision, and fans can follow ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and at twitter.com/ussoccer. The U.S. will find out their opponent after the other semifinal between Brazil and South Africa is played on Thursday, June 25, live on ESPN and Univision at 2:25 p.m. ET.

After what will undoubtedly be considered one of the greatest victories of all-time, the U.S. Men’s National Team is now 2-7-1 against the top team in the FIFA World Rankings and has a 2-2-0 overall record at the Confederations Cup with six goals scored and six allowed. The U.S. was the first team to shutout Spain since Italy did so in the 2008 European Championships. The win was the first victory by a CONCACAF team against Spain, and the match marked the first time in 29 games that Spain allowed two goals.

Bradley made just two changes to the lineup that started against Egypt, with Howard returning in goal and team captain Carlos Bocanegra making his first appearance of the tournament. Bocanegra, making his first start at left back since March 25, 2007, joined a back line of Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit and Jonathan Spector.

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