Soccer Arrives as U.S.A. Upsets Colombia, 2-1

Soccer has finally arrived in the United States.

Once ridiculed as a bunch of college kids who kick with their toes, the United States took a prominent step toward respectability with a stunning 2-1 victory over Colombia in a World Cup match at the Rose Bowl.

With five minutes to play and the United States holding a 2-0 lead, the U.S. fans were on their feet, waving flags and chanting, “U.S.A! U.S.A!”

Adolfo Valencia quieted the crowd briefly when he scored in the 90th minute.

But the crowd picked up the chant again in the final two minutes of injury time and erupted when the final whistle blew.

U.S. goalkeeper Tony Meola, who made several outstanding saves, charged out of the net and was engulfed by his teammates.

While stunned Colombian players knelt on the turf or just stared in disbelief, U.S. players were circling the stadium, waving flags to the fans who stayed on their feet, cheering for several minutes.

“We proved to everyone today that we can play the game,” said Meola. “We stopped one of the best teams in the tournament.”

How unlikely was the victory?

Colombia was picked by Pele as one of the favorites of the monthlong tournament.

Nobody gave the United States a chance.

It was its biggest soccer victory since the 1-0 victory over England in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

The victory, worth three points, virtually assured the United States of advancing to the round of 16. The Americans now have four points and are tied with Switzerland for the lead in Group A with one game to play.

To be fair, it should be pointed out that Colombia was playing without midfielder Gabriel Gomez, who withdrew after a death threat to his family in Medellin.

But even his presence might not have been enough to thwart a determined American team that was stretched defensively to its limit, particularly in the first half, by a relentless Colombian attack.

Time and again the Colombians penetrated deep into the U.S. zone. One shot was saved by a deflection off the post, but most of them were cleared by a swarm of U.S. defenders.

The Americans, meanwhile, were getting good chances to score on counterattacks.

They finally broke through in the 35th minute on a goal when Colombia defender Andres Escobar tried to intercept a pass and accidentally flicked it into his own net.

The United States didn’t sit on its one-goal lead in the second half. Playing with more confidence, it started mounting more attacks and had several chances before Ernie Stewart collected a through pass from Tab Ramos and put it in the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.

From that point on, it was just a matter of running the clock out.