Locals Help US Make Stunning Advancement

Dempsey, Davies Score for Americans in Confederations Cup Victory

June 21, 2009

Boston College product Charlie Davies scored the first and winning goal and former Revolution striker Clint Dempsey capped the night with the third U.S. tally.

The three-goal win combined with Brazil�s 3-0 victory against Italy, the U.S. moved from last to second place in the group and will face Spain in the semifinals on Wednesday, June 24. The Americans finished tied with Italy in points and goal differential but scored one more goal.

Former Rev Clint Dempsey scored for the US team on Sunday.(Chris ADUAMA/aduama.com

Davies, in his first start since January, scored the opening goal of the match during a scramble in front of the net. With Brazil leading Italy by three goals at halftime, the U.S. was in position to make what seemed improbable at the start of the day a reality. In the second half, the U.S. took full advantage with goals from Michael Bradley and Dempsey.

The U.S. will face Spain at Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein at 2:25 p.m. ET. The match will be live on ESPN.

�Without a doubt, we were focused on all three games knowing it was a tough group,� said U.S. coach Bob Bradley. �We knew that in the last game that we need to get after it in a way that would give us a chance. We started the game with a lot of energy. Getting the first goal becomes important. At halftime, we felt that if we were smart, and we continued to press in a good way that there would be chances and that we would get two more goals. In that regard, credit to the players for the push they made throughout the game. We�re excited to move on.�

Davies put the U.S. in the lead in the 21st minute by chasing down a scramble near the left post. After a scrum in front of the net, Davies pulled the ball off the endline with his left and then from an improbable angle hit a shot with his right foot that went off goalkeeper Essam El Hadary�s hands and into the net.

The U.S. was unfortunate not to score another goal before halftime, but knowing Brazil was taking care of business in Tshwane/Pretoria provided even more incentive for the U.S. to score the required two goals in the second half. The U.S. were denied a goal when a Jozy Altidore shot was saved off the line by the arm of Egyptian defender Hani Said, but no penalty was called.

Bradley got the U.S. one goal closer to the semifinals in the 63rd minute due to a nice combination with Donovan. About 25 yards out Bradley played the ball back for Donovan who was running alongside his left, putting him into the penalty area. Bradley continued his run into the box and Donovan slipped it across to the penalty spot where Bradley hit his one-timer into the right side of the goal past El Hadary for the 2-0 lead.

Looking for the all-important third goal, Bob Bradley brought in Benny Feilhaber in to replace Jozy Altidore in the 69th minute and moved Dempsey up to forward. The U.S. finally broke free two minutes later. Michael Bradley found defender Jonathan Spector who had found space along the right flank. Spector took a settling touch and looked up to see even numbers along Egypt�s backline, with four U.S. players converging towards the penalty area. He whipped in a curling service that found Dempsey, who held off Wael Gomaa and directed a perfectly-placed header just inside the left post.

�We knew it was going to be a tough game,� said Dempsey. �The odds were against us and the chances of us going through were slim. All we could control was ourselves. Credit to all the guys and the coaching staff. We worked hard this whole tournament so far and believed in ourselves. Now it�s time to refocus and get ready for Spain.�

Egypt almost spoiled the USA�s unbelievable comeback in the 90th minute with a fantastic opportunity on net, but Wael Gomaa�s header sailed just over the bar.

In group A action on Saturday, Spain won their third straight match with a 2-0 victory against South Africa.

U.S. Men�s National Team Game Report

Scoring Summary:
USA � Charlie Davies 21st minute
USA - Michael Bradley (Landon Donovan) 63rd
USA - Clint Dempsey (Jonathan Spector) 71st

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brad Guzan; 12-Jonathan Spector, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 15-Jay DeMerit, 2-Jonathan Bornstein; 10-Landon Donovan (capt.), 13 -Ricardo Clark, 12-Michael Bradley, 8-Clint Dempsey; 9-Charlie Davies (4-Conor Casey, 82), 17-Jozy Altidore (22-Benny Feilhaber, 69)

EGY: 1-Essam El Hadary (capt.); 7-Ahmed Fathi (4-Ahmed Said, 53), 6-Hani Said, 20-Wael Gomaa, 15-Ahmed Farag; 3-Ahmed Al Muhamadi, 11-Mohamed Shawky, 22-Mohamed Aboutrika, 8-Hosni Abd Rabbou; 10-Ahmed Eid (17-Ahmed Hassan, 50), 18-Ahmed Abdelghani (19-Mohamed Abougrisha, 62)

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