by Zack Faigen
The United States pulled off the unthinkable and upset world No. 1 Spain in the Confederations Cup semifinals. Go back and relive the action from FOXSports.com's live blog.
Full time: U.S. 2, Spain 0
93rd minute: It's over. The U.S. has done it.
Clint Dempsey scores the USA's second goal of the match after some pretty passing in the box by the Americans. (Martin Meissner / Associated Press)
92nd minute: U.S. taking its time on the goal kick. About 1 minute left.
91st minute: Howard comes out to stymie a give-and-go with Mata as the target.
90th minute: Ball thru to Villa is whistled dead for offside. Spain will need a stoppage time miracle to avoid this historic upset. U.S. plays the ball long and out on Spain's end line. There will be three minutes of stoppage time.
89th minute: Final U.S. substitution. Dempsey out. Bornstein in.
87th minute: Another flurry by Spain in front of the U.S. net and American defender are sliding every which way to block shots. Spain is really pouring it on but the U.S. defense is hanging tough.
86th minute: Bradley goes in for a tackle, and is whistled for ... a RED CARD! Stunning decision from the ref on what appeared to be no worse than an ordinary foul.
85th minute: Cross in by Spain headed out by Onyewu for a corner. U.S. clears that effort as well.
84th minute: U.S. makes its second substitution. Altidore to the bench. Casey on.
83rd minute: After some nice possession from the U.S., Altidore barely offside on a pass that would have yielded a breakaway opportunity. Spain comes back, flurry in the U.S. box is cleared, then a cross in to Capdevila is headed high.
Fernando Torres of Spain is dejected after going down 2-0 to the Americans. (Paul Thomas / Associated Press)
81st minute: Alonso has a shot from distance that Howard turns away.
80th minute: Corner glances off a Spanish head and out for a goal kick.
79th minute: Villa's strike goes through the wall, but comes harmlessly on the ground to Howard. Mata's cross knocked out for another Spain corner.
78th minute: Foul on the U.S. gives spain a free kick from 25 yards out.
77th minute: Torres can't handle a ball into the box, Spector clears and Torres called for the foul. Spain's 35-match unbeaten streak in serious jeopardy here.
74th minute: Feilhaber picks his way through the middle of Spain's half and gives Donovan a perfect ball into clear space on the right side of the Spanish box. Donovan plays it across the middle, the ball deflects off a Spanish defender to Clint Dempsey who turns, whirls and pokes the ball past Casillas for the second U.S. GOAL.
73rd minute: Reira's ball from left to Torres along the turf is well-defended and the ball goes out off Torres. Free kick to the U.S.
71st minute: Donovan's cross to the far side of the Spain box is just a little off stride and the ball goes out.
USA vs. Spain
* Confederations Cup Semifinals
70th minute: Torres can't handle a long ball across the field and it goes out for a U.S. goal kick.
68th minute: U.S. survives another flurry and we'll see our first subs of the match. Cazorla in for Spain, Fabregas to the bench. U.S. set to make its first substitution as well. Feilhaber in, Davies out.
66th minute: Ball across the U.S. box finds a wide open Ramos, but Clark slides in front of the shot, saving Howard from having to make yet another save. Foul by Ramos on the ensuing chase gives the U.S. a chance to breathe.
64th minute: Flurry in front of the U.S. net finds Reira, but Demerit blocks his shot in the box. Long-distance blast from Spain saved by Howard on a diving stop. Ball kept in, Spain plays the ball around the pitch and finds Ramos on the right. Ramos unleashes a blast and Howard makes another huge save.
61st minute: Spain takes control off the U.S. throw and Villa's blistering strike goes just wide. U.S. gains possession off the goal kick and Altidore is taken down in the Spain box, but no foul called.
60th minute: Another short corner from Spain fails to yield an opportunity and the ball is eventually knocked out on the touch line by Spain.
59th minute: U.S. survives incessant pressure from Spain, gains possession and starts to counterattack. Ball knocked out for a U.S. throw.
58th minute: Nice ball in from Donovan. Spain heads away, and a volley attempt by Davies sails high.
57th minute: Solid fight from Altidore nets a corner kick for the U.S.
56th minute: Another low shot from Spain saved and held by Howard. The Everton keeper playing a phenomenal match.
Landon Donovan (left) of the U.S. battles Sergio Ramos of Spain for a loose ball. (Paul Thomas / Associated Press)
55th minute: Shot from Reira misses low and left, out of the reach of Howard. Goal kick to the U.S.
54th minute: Spain attacking again, but U.S. playing quality team defense, cutting off shooting angles and not letting the Spaniards have a clear look at goal. Ball over the top goes through to Howard as Spain's pleas for a penalty go unacknowledged by the referee.
52nd minute: Reira moves along the left side of the box and his cross attempt is knocked out for a corner. Ball played in, Villa possesses. A nifty move gives him space six yards out on the left side, but his bouncing shot is scooped up by Howard. U.S. trying to weather this Spanish storm.
50th minute: Spain possessing in the U.S. half and around the box, but the Americans continue to knock the ball away before it can become imminently dangerous.
49th minute: Ball played thru to Villa is just out of the striker's reach and Howard comes up to pick up the ball.
48th minute: Cross from Torres is punched out by Howard. Spain retains possession, and a rocket shot from Villa is tipped away by a diving Howard. Ball comes back to Spain and a shot from distance goes barely high. Great play from Howard in net.
47th minute: Donovan gets control on the right side of the box. A dangerous ball into the middle is put out by Spain for a corner.
Jozy Altidore celebrates his goal that put the U.S. up 1-0 over Spain. ( Martin Meissner / Associated Press)
Halftime
45th minute: Torres takes Bocanegra 1-on-1 on the right side, cuts the ball back, and finds space 6 yards out. His shot clangs off the near post and pops up in the air. Fould called on Spain in the box.
43rd minute: Onyewu clears a ball played from Villa to Torres. U.S. trying to maintain its lead heading into halftime. Donovan clears.
42nd minute: Free kick from the right side of the box to Spain. U.S. clears the cross, but Spain regains possession. A ball thru on the right side springs Villa who crosses on the ground. U.S. able to clear before the ball gets to Ramos.
40th minute: Donovan whistled for offside.
37th minute: Slick, small passes from Spain gets Torres free in the box. Onyewu able to boot the ball away before Torres can turn and shoot. Corner cleared by the U.S.
36th minute: Altidore dragged down by his shirt. Free kick to the U.S. Ball in from Donovan finds Dempsey open behind the Spanish defense, but Dempsey's header goes high and wide. Opportunity missed for the Americans.
34th minute: Cross from Spain headed out by Onyewu. Throw to Spain. Torres called for offside after play resumes.
33rd minute: Offside called on a cross to Torres.
FIFA Confederations Cup
Photos
* Group A | Group B | Semifinal
Top Stories
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* Bafana eye Brazil upset | Injury woe
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* CONFEDERATIONS CUP CENTRAL
Opinion
* TRECKER: USA's biggest-ever victory
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Links
Front | Standings | Fixtures
32nd minute: Foul not called on a midfield tackle leading to a break for Spain. Ball finds its way to Villa's foot in the U.S. box. Bocanegra maintains good defensive position, not letting Villa have a clear shot. Villa's attempt goes high over the bar.
31st minute: Ramos plays a dangerous ball in for Spain, but the U.S. defender blocks the shot. Ball eventually played back to Ramos, whose cross is deflected out for a corner.
27th minute: Altidore uses his size to shield the defender on a ball played by Dempsey to the top of the box. He gets off a blistering right-footed shot. Casillas dives to his right and gets a piece, but the ball caroms off the inside of the post for a U.S. GOAL.
25th minute: Another corner to Spain. They play a short ball, but cannot muster a dangerous chance.
24th minute: Ball intended for Villa is knocked out by Onyewu. Corner kick to Spain. Onyewu clears with his head.
22nd minute: A Spanish flurry in front of the U.S. net results in a severely off-target shot by Villa. However, a foul throw is called on the subsequent U.S. throw-in, giving possession back to Spain.
20th minute: Villa moves up the left flank to the end line but his cross on the ground is cleared out. Counterattack by the U.S. yields a shot from 30 yards by Donovan that goes wide along the ground.
18th minute: Torres called offside on the most dangerous opportunity of the match. (Before the players stopped playing, Howard made a tremendous save on Torres' turnaround shot that would not have counted.)
15th minute: Spain tries to go over the top to Villa, but the Valencia striker is called for offsides.
13th minute: Ball on the ground into the U.S. box misses its target and the Americans are able to clear.
11th minute: Spain's best opportunity thus far is a ball across the mouth of the goal from Fabregas. Torres gets his boot on it but can't keep the touch on target. Out for a U.S. goal kick.
10th minute: Fabregas unleashes a shot from 30 yards out, but it sails high over the crossbar.
8th minute: Shot from distance by Dempsey narrowly misses the post as the ball is just out of the reach of Casillas' dive low and to the right.
7th minute: A fantastic opportunity by the U.S. just misses as Charlie Davies' bicycle kick attempt goes wide of the post. The U.S. hanging very tough so far in the first few minutes.
6th minute: Frantic play back and forth includes a cross in by Spain and a flurry by the U.S.
5th minute: A thru ball is just out of the reach of Jose Altidore as Casillas slides out with his legs. Donovan booked for a tackle on Xavi Alonso.
4th minute: Corner by Donovan is headed out by the Spanish defense. A throw-in to the U.S.
3rd minute: Spain's corner is punched out by Howard and cleared away by the U.S. A counterattack by the U.S. leads to a corner kick for the Americans.
2nd minute: First foul of the game yields a free kick for Spain. Fabregas takes a short pass and crosses it in. Tim Howard punches it behind the net for a corner.
1st minute: Spain has some solid buildup with short, quick passes. A switch of the field finds Riera on the left and a cross in on the ground is booted away by Onyewu.
by Zack Faigen
Zack Faigen is the senior news editor for FOXSports.com. He also serves as the golf editor and an occassional golf contributer.
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/9725770/U.S.-stuns-world-No.-1-Spain,-into-Confed-Cup-final
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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