U.S. Lets a Big One Get Away
It didn’t dominate, it didn’t control the run of play and it probably didn’t deserve to win.
But there the United States stood Wednesday, minutes from a stunning upset of five-time world champion Brazil.
Everything changed in a flash, though, when Kaka scored a goal in the 89th minute and Diego scored a golden goal penalty kick in the 10th minute of overtime to lead Brazil to a 2-1 victory over the defending champion U.S. in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in front of a mostly pro-Brazilian crowd of 35,211 at Miami.
The U.S. had its 11-game Gold Cup winning streak ended and fell to 1-11-0 all-time against Brazil. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller also had his 22-match winning streak on American soil ended.
Keller, who made seven saves Wednesday and was in goal the only time (1998) the U.S. has defeated Brazil, had not given up a goal in his previous five-plus matches, a string of 557 minutes.
“That’s the way it goes,” Keller said. “It’s unfortunate [to lose] because I think we had them.”
Brazil, which sent its under-23 team to the tournament as an invited guest, awaits the winner of tonight’s other semifinal between Mexico and Costa Rica at Mexico City, site of Sunday’s final.
The Mexico-Costa Rica winner also will earn CONCACAF’s automatic berth to the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany as regional champion for North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Carlos Bocanegra had given the U.S. a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute off a well-played curling free kick from the right wing by playmaker Claudio Reyna.
Reyna’s cross found Bocanegra alone in the middle of the box where the former UCLA player headed it down past diving Brazilian goalkeeper Gomes.
The goal came after a flurry of scoring chances for Brazil to start the second half and it was the only time to that point after halftime that the Americans had a legitimate threat.
After its goal, the U.S. tried to hold on, surviving a Julio Baptista shot from the top of the box in the 74th minute that Keller tipped with his left hand off the post.
On the tying goal, substitute Ewerthon, who had come on only three minutes earlier, dribbled into the box for a close-range shot that Keller smothered but couldn’t hold on to. Kaka, the only Brazilian player on its roster with World Cup experience, put away the rebound.
In overtime, neither team mounted a threat until Brazil’s goal.
The play started on what seemed to be an innocent through ball that Keller tried to gather while sliding. But Kaka arrived and poked it loose to Diego, who shot and would have scored had U.S. defender Cory Gibbs not blocked the ball with his hand, an automatic red card.
Diego’s ensuing penalty kick was a hard, right-footed drive down the middle as Keller dived to his left.
“Certainly fatigue was a factor tonight,” U.S. Coach Bruce Arena said. “We ran out of gas.... But I give my team credit as well as we gave everything we had and just fell short.”
The U.S. played most of the game without scoring threat Brian McBride, who was cut over the left eye in the 25th minute on a collision in the air with Brazil’s Alex.
The U.S. will play the Mexico-Costa Rica loser in the third-place game Saturday at Miami.
