After much roster rancor and blog spazzing from yours truly, the U.S.-Jamaica quarterfinal match went off without a hitch and Uncle Sam came out as 2-0 winners over the Reggae Boyz.
Many U.S. fans hit the soccer bars extra early on Sunday upon news that long-time star Landon Donovan would be held out of the starting lineup by Coach Bob Bradley. Returning to D.C. from his sister's wedding in California, Donovan didn't return until 7:30 am. In comparison, fellow talented teammate and chronic over-actor Clint Dempsey also returned home from his sister's wedding in Texas and got back at 2 am. Methinks Landon was hitting up the after-party with some of the bridesmaids.
All of this drama before kickoff amounted to very little as the U.S. team functioned just fine minus Donovan. In fact, young star striker Jozy Altidore left the match in just the 12th minute, eliminating another starter from the lineup. Fortunately, Clint Dempsey finally scored a goal after numerous opportunities in the group stage (particularly against Guadeloupe).
His was the insurance to Jermaine Jones' game-winner, his first international goal, and an apt one given the U.S.'s Febreze fresh new roster.
Unfortunately the Gold Cup was not Jamaica's "Redemption Song," but they played well enough to convince me that they have a shot to make the next World Cup. Always a cult favorite, it would be great to see them in Brazil in 2014.
The second match was even more raucous than the first. By a lot.
Panama stuns El Salvador in the final minute and wins by penalty kicks
Numerous Salvadorans were in attendance at RFK Stadium for this one, and it showed when the tiny country broke through with the first goal, a penalty kick in the 78th minute.
With little time remaining, Panama crashed the net and finally got an opportune ball in the air right by the goal line. Luis Tejada got some part of his body on the ball in the scramble and it was ruled a goal, however later replays showed that the entire ball might not have crossed the goal line. The Salvadoran fans reacted naturally: jeers that would make a sailor blush, bottles thrown onto the field, a red card for both sides, and the requisite running man doing a circuit around the pitch. Surely a prelude to the doomsday I alluded to in the beginning!
It was a very good game with tons of scoring chances for both teams, and I'm not sad that El Salvador lost, for a couple reasons. First, they got a questionable penalty kick earlier in the game, and they could have won if they had converted right there. Second, this sets up an intriguing rematch between the U.S. and Panama!
Semifinal action detonates this Wednesday in Houston. Look for Mexico and Honduras to have an intense battle. I could see this one going either way, but deep down I've got to believe Mexico will advance to the final since they've got more punch. Meanwhile, I'm actually bullish on America. I liked that Bradley wasn't afraid to try out some different players, and you know they've got to be hungry to avenge their earlier loss. The only way to sate that hunger is goals, and I do hope they are gluttonous!
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