06/21/2002
The Americans rode heady tactics and spirited verve into the World Cup
quarterfinals. They had all that once again Friday against a powerful
German squad aiming for its 10th World Cup semifinal.
And the underdog United States was surprisingly aggressive against the
three-time world champs, alive with confident passing, crashing toward
the German goal instead of retreating into the expected defensive stance.
But as the increasingly talented U.S. soccer team learned in Friday's
1-0 loss, soccer's bottom line still comes down to this: putting away
scoring chances.
Germany did so.
The United States didn't.
Team USA's swashbuckling dash through World Cup 2002 is history because
stone-faced German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was a giant against a Yankee
bunch that needed to do a little better on its clear chances at goal.
In Match 58 of Korea-Japan 2002, coach Bruce Arena's men carved out an
offensive edge against a surprisingly passive (tactically, that is)
German squad. But the Americans lacked the finishing bite that served
them so well in tournament upsets over Portugal and Mexico and in a tie
against tournament co-host South Korea.
Ironically, the United States created more chances Friday than in any of
the previous games. A carefree spirit – a contrast to the tighter,
safety-first approach of its opponents – and an apparent mission to
match the Germans' physical play helped Team USA outshoot Germany, 11-6.
Kahn made several superb saves, including three against Landon Donovan.
Eddie Lewis unleashed a nasty 17-yard effort shortly before intermission
that Germany's brawny goalkeeper turned away. Lewis, the left-sided
midfielder, also supplied a generous share of dangerous crosses.
Kahn also got a couple of breaks; Gregg Berhalter's lunging volley was
inches from completely crossing the goal line when Torsten Frings'
Johnny-on-the-spot stop.
(Although it appeared to hit a German player's arm, which could have
resulted in a penalty kick.)
At the other end, U.S. standout netminder Brad Friedel couldn't do what
Kahn did: find a way to stop the shot that mattered.
Friedel got a hand on Michael Ballack's close-range, 39th-minute header,
but couldn't do enough to turn away the game's lone goal. Arguably,
Friedel should have been more aggressive in coming off his line to
extinguish the serve, which dropped at the edge of his six-yard goal
area.
Four minutes later, Friedel was beaten on Miroslav Klose's unchallenged
header, which snapped off the goalpost.
Still, a U.S. side that beat significant odds in just escaping the first
round certainly made a good account against a more seasoned team. Arena
stayed with the 3-5-2 formation that stymied Mexico, 2-0, in a
second-round upset. This time, however, the two wide players pushed
forward instead of devolving into de facto defenders.
Former German captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer chastised his nation's
current group for its tentative approach and said Germany was fortunate
to slip into the semifinals.
"America were clearly the better team for 90 minutes," said Beckenbauer,
now a TV analyst.
American captain Claudio Reyna did more than his share, possibly
grinding out his best match in a U.S. jersey. He was better than German
playmaker Ballack, finally delivering an inspired 90 minutes of
leadership, stamina and fight to complement his specialty of tidy ball
control.
Playing behind Reyna, U.S. defensive midfielders John O'Brien and Pablo
Mastroeni were large in somewhat containing Germany's well-organized
midfield. Mastroeni, Team USA's least internationally experienced
player, continued to elevate his soccer stock with composed passing,
smart positioning and plenty of hustle.
Mastroeni did appear to wear down, not shocking, considering the
Americans had two fewer days of rest.
You wouldn't think so to look at Tony Sanneh, the Amercian right back,
who pushed forward in the game's dying minutes. He still appeared to
have plenty of juice near the end – even after a forceful performance in
the back – and nearly tied the game with a late header that just missed
wide.
Brian McBride, who had two goals for the Americans in the tournament,
was rarely a factor. But neither was Clint Mathis, who came on for
McBride in the second half. Mathis had one good shot at goal, but it was
turned away by a lunging Jens Jeremies before it had a chance to test
Kahn.
It may be cold comfort to a group with a fine opportunity to charge into
the semifinals. But this version of U.S. Soccer was light years ahead of
the floundering unit that looked so overmatched four years ago in the
2-0 loss to Germany that kicked off World Cup '98.
But for the failed finishing, it could be Team USA marching on at
Korea-Japan, and Germany left to explain yet another small fry taking
down world soccer heavyweight.
World Cup
Slideshows:
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Fan reaction
Germany dashes U.S. Cup dreams
Local German fans follow their hearts, roots
Box score
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