In one of the greatest matches in U.S. Soccer history, the U.S. got goals by Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore 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 caught the Spaniards with an opportunist cracker 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.
U.S. and Fulham midfielder Man of the Match CLINT DEMPSEY
“This win is huge for American soccer because it’s the first time for the men to be in a final in a major competition. This one is much sweeter because we were down and out, came back fighting in the Egypt game. No one expected us to win this game. We fought hard, showed a lot of heart, stayed compact defensively, picked our moments when to go forward and scored some goals and that made it difficult on them. I’m excited about the result, and think all the fans back at home will be excited as well.”
On if he ever thought the team would be in this position after the loss to Brazil:
“You never know. The coaching staff came to us and said that there is a possibility. We knew it was going to be a long shot to advance. We knew we would have to score a lot of goals in the Egypt game. We worked hard and the other result went our way as well so we are excited about that. We carried that over to this game. Worked hard with the same mentality and we’re excited about the result but we’re looking forward to the final and whoever we play we know it’s going to be a difficult match.”
Dempsey continues to climb the all-time scoring lists for the U.S., and by scoring his 15th career goal, he is now tied with Cobi Jones for eighth on the all-time goal list. He also leapfrogged Claudio Reyna on the all-time points list and is now tied at ninth with Eddie Lewis with 36 points.
"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.