HEARTBREAK CITY! DOWN 2-0 AT HALFTIME, BRAZIL WINS THE CONFEDERATIONS CUP!

Wow. All I can say is wow. After seeing the United States up 2-0 at halftime, I thought the game was over and that the Confederations Cup was going to the U.S. Turns out, I was wrong. Fabiano in the 46th and 74th minute and Lucio in the 84th changed the direction of the game and that would be it. Brazil 3, United States 2. And of course, what better broadcast is there to put up for the highlights of a Brazil-United States game than the Polish broadcast? Here are the highlights complete with screaming Univision Brazilian announcers! Enjoy!



And while it is heartbreaking for the United States, I'll do what Rece Davis, Alexi Lalas, JP Dellacamera, and John Harkes failed to do for the 30 minute following the end of the game and give Brazil their props. They are one of the best in the world for a reason. Despite having not trailed in over 5 hours of gametime and then being down 2-0 at halftime, they showed heart and hung in there. They never tucked their tail between their legs and they kept on fighting and going after it and it paid off big time in the 2nd half. And while it is only the Confederations Cup, as a U.S. fan, I so badly wanted to our team standing on that podium with the fireworks in the background and the subsequent dousing of our team in confetti. Oh well.

Congratulations, once again, to Brazil. And while unrelated to all of this, RIP Billy Mays.

FIFA Confederations Cup Championship Game Live Blog United States Vs. Brazil

FIFA Confederations Cup 3rd Place Game Spain Vs. South Africa Live Blog

THE STREAK IS OVER!!!!!

While it certainly is not as big a win as some people will try to tell you it is, the United States 2-0 upset of Spain will definitley go down as this club's biggest win since the 2002 World Cup. Spain's world record 15-game win streak is over. Spain's world record tying 35-game unbeaten streak is over. The United States is in the finals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Jozy Altidore notched one in the 27th minute and Clint Dempsey's goal in the 74th minute all but clinched the game for the good ol' U.S. of A. Huge thanks to AA for compiling a nice highlight package of the game complete with both goals as the ones on YouTube thus far are either poor quality or something is missing from them.



Again, this is just the Confederations Cup, but anytime you can get a win over #1 ranked Spain and end 2 world record streaks in the process, it is a big day and is a cause for cheer and celebration. The U.S. will face the winner of tomorrow's game between Brazil and host nation South Africa (sorry, but I won't be around tomorrow for the live blog). The loser will battle Spain on Sunday in the 3rd place game and the winner will play the United States on Sunday in the FIFA Confederations Cup championship game. And yes, I should be around on Sunday to live blog both of those games.

Spain Vs. U.S.A. Live Blog

It's another FIFA Confederations Cup afternoon live blog! Do join us for all of the fun, laughs, updates, play-by-play, and analysis of the United States humiliating, blowout loss semifinal game against Spain.

THIS IS WHY I LOVE GROUP PLAY!!! AGAINST ALL ODDS, THE U.S. HAS DONE IT!

An absolutely incredible series of events occured today in South Africa. Brazil beat Italy 3-0 with a late 1st half explosion. The United States beat Egypt 3-0. That meant that the U.S.'s goal differential was 1 better than Egypt and the U.S. was tied with Italy for goal differential. Afterwards, the next tie-breaker is total goals scored in the tournament. The U.S. scored 4 goals in the Confederations Cup. Italy only got 3. That's right! The United States has advanced to the semifinals and they will play Spain on Wednesday! No typo exists in that statement! And for your viewing pleasure, here is all that transpired in the past 2 hours.

First, it was Davies giving the U.S. a 1-0 lead.



What followed a few minutes later was nothing short of "capital punishment" in the capital city of Pretoria, as Adrian Healey called it. Get ready for an end-of-1st-half Brazilian style blitzkreig.







Gotta love the hilarity of some own goals! But that not withstanding, at halftime of both games, the score was 3-0 Brazil and 1-0 U.S. If the U.S. got 2 more (and assuming Italy and Egypt did not score), the U.S. would surpass Egypt and tie Italy in goal differential. The tie breaker would be goals scored, and if the U.S. got the 2, they (and Italy did not score again and Egypt did not score as to mess up the goal differential), would have one more goal scored than Italy and that would be enough to advance. Here's what happened.

MICHAEL BRADLEY!



And then....the unthinkable.....

CLINT DEMPSEY!



And that would be all of the goals scored today! The United States has pulled off one of the most miraculous end of group stage performances I have ever seen in my life. The United States of America is in the semifinals! Let me say that again, THE UNITES STATES OF AMERICA IS IN THE SEMIFINALS!

Truly, truly remarkable.

And if only that BBC guy who did the U.S.-Egypt game on BBC was doing the game for ESPN.....he was giving me goosebumps as I was watching the videos on YouTube.

U.S. Vs. Egypt And Italy Vs. Brazil Live Blog

Egypt Upsets Italy In The Confederations Cup As Italy Becomes The Butt Of All Jokes

The United States may have crapped the bed in their game, but the world is thankful that Gennaro Gattuso did not crap his pants. What a day of soccer it was. First of all, the U.S,. got ass-raped, and then the shocker of the tournament, Egypt upset World Champion Italy! No typo exists in that statement, Egypt beat Italy 1-0! First off is the video of the Mohamed Homos goal (which by the way has one of the most, overtop goal calls I've ever heard in my life) followed by the video of Gattuso's wardrobe malfunction.



Praise Allah! Or at least that's what I think that guy was saying. Regardless, that's funny! And if I had to listen to that voice for 90 minutes, I'm pretty sure I would have to jump off a pyramid. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! More Gattuso!



Just to finish the Tommy Smyth quote: "He does not snarl as much as he used to. He's not quite the snarling dog. Like his mom said, always make sure your underwear is clean!"

So random the way he jumped from snarling to Gattuso's mom, but regardless, nonstop hilarity! And I think the world (myself included) is thankful that Gattuso was not naked underneath and/or wearing a thong. For if he was, I think we would have quite the international incident on our hands.

Regardless, though, congrats to Egypt on their big upset win and the U.S. is still alive and can make it to the semifinals. That is, if they beat Egypt by 3 or more and Brazil beats Italy by 4 or more. Or there can be some odd scenario where Italy loses by 3, depending on how much everyone else scores.

Egypt Vs. Italy Live Blog

U.S.A. Vs. Brazil Live Blog

Schedule For The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

Most of this information has been known for quite some time now, but seeing as SSR posted it today and I've been comtemplating posting it for quite some time, I figured why not do it today. The teams that qualify for this tournament are the 2010 World Cup host nation (South Africa), the winners of the 6 recently played, and the winner of the 2006 World Cup (Italy). So here are your groups and here is your schedule. And once TV and announcer information is known, instead of writing new posts, I will just expand upon this post like I have been doing for the NHL and the NBA and the FIFA World Cup qualifying (which resumes June 3 with the U.S. taking on Costa Rica).

Group A
Spain - 9 points
South Africa - 4 points
Iraq - 2 points
New Zealand - 1 point

Group A Schedule (all times eastern)

June 14
South Africa vs. Iraq 0-0 (Johannesburg)
New Zealand vs. Spain 0-5 (Rustenburg)

June 17
Spain vs. Iraq 1-0 (Bloemfontein)
South Africa vs. New Zealand 2-0 (Rustenburg)

June 20
Iraq vs. New Zealand 0-0 (Johannesburg)
Spain vs. South Africa 2-0 (Bloemfontein)


Group B
Brazil - 6 points
United States - 3 points
Italy - 3 points
Egypt - 3 points

Group B Schedule (all times eastern)

June 15
Brazil vs. Egypt 4-3 (Bloemfontein)
United States vs. Italy 1-3 (Pretoria)

June 18
United States vs. Brazil 0-3 (Pretoria)
Egypt vs. Italy 1-0 (Johannesburg)

June 21
Italy vs. Brazil 0-3 (Pretoria)
Egypt vs. United States 0-3 (Rustenburg)

Elimination Round (Top 2 in each group advance).

June 24
1st Semifinal: Spain vs. United States 0-2 (Bloemfontein)
June 25
2nd Semifinal: Brazil vs. South Africa 1-0 (Johannesburg)

June 28
Third Place Game: Spain vs. South Africa 3-2 F/OT (Rustenburg)
Championship Game: United States vs. Brazil 2-3 (Johannesburg)

I'll have updates as more info becomes and this will be the post for updated standings once the tournament gets underway. These soccer tournaments come at a great time because it gives me something to watch during the day during my summer break. It also does not hurt that the United States is in it, and while some of the teams are rather less than compelling (i.e. Iraq, Egypt, and New Zealand), it still should be a blast to watch!

Your 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Schedule and Your Partial FIFA Confederations Cup TV Schedule (Stupid Sideline Reporters)