SSR Vol5 FIFA- WC-SA

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USA was the most feared of the
three CONCACAF teams at World Cup
South Africa. The Americans were in
Group C with England, Slovenia and
Algeria. However they lived by the sword,
and in the end they die by it, after trying to
come from behind once to often.
USA made some unbelievable come
backs in games in which they could have
easily lost. Their never say die attitude
was working up to a point but dancing
with the clock from as early as its first
match against England was not a good
sign.
After falling behind England 1-0 on a
Steven Gerrard goal in the 4th minute,
USA equalized on goalkeeper Robert
Green’s blunder to draw the game and
share the points at one apiece.
While many wrote about the blunder which caused the equalizer for USA, others recognized England’s inability to
keep pace with USA's team speed, when the emotions were high and the game was on the line.
USA heroics continued in their second match against Slovenia. After trailing 2-0 at the half, the Americans not only
tied the score 2-2 on second half goals by captain Landon Donavan and Michael Bradley, but was robbed on a
botched call by referee Koman Coulibaly, which negated Maurice Edu’s volley off Donovan's free-kick, which
would have surely given USA the win.
USA continued to live on the edge. Captain Landon Donavan scored in extra time to give USA a 1-0 win over
Algeria and the group title. But after winning the Group B ahead of England, USA went to the well once to often
and was eliminated by Ghana in an overtime nail biter in the Round of 16.
Honduras ran out of games and players to be truly competitive with their experienced opponents in
Group H. Playing their most important game against Chile in its opening contest, Honduras did well (if there is
such a thing), to come out on
the short end of a 1-0 decision,
after coming under heavy fire
during the game.
Los Catrachos lost their second
match to Spain 2-0 when the
eventual champions doubled
their lead just after the half to
secure the victory.
After a 28 year absence,
Honduras proved that they can
compete with the world ‘s best,
when they held Switzerland to a
scoreless draw in their last
match.
The tie eliminated Switzerland,
and allowed Chile and Spain to
advance out of the group.
USA
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Honduras
Too many
comeback attempts
Gave in to the pressure