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US ready for semifinal against Spain
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-23 08:03 RUSTENBURG, South Africa: United States midfielder Sacha Klejstan had cause for relief as well as excitement as his team looks forward to this week's surprise Confederations Cup semifinal match against Spain. The midfielder was suspended for Sunday's 3-0 win over Egypt after he got his first ever international red card in the previous game against Brazil. Klejstan apologized to his teammates after the game but remained concerned that his tough tackle, which could easily have attracted only a yellow card but left the United States a man short for 33 minutes, could have cost his team a chance of progress to the next round. But the victory, coupled with an equally emphatic one for Brazil over Italy, sent the Americans into the semifinals against European champions Spain. "It was hectic for me watching the game last night," Klejstan said Monday. "I was up in a suite watching the Brazil game on a TV behind me. I was watching both games, so it was an exciting experience and an experience I was glad to share with the team." A tightly knit squad and healthy team spirit have been key features of the United States' surprise progress to the Confederations Cup semifinals, and Klejstan's apologies were accepted right away. He will be back in the squad for Wednesday's game in Bloemfontein and was training early Monday along with the other players who played no part in the win over Egypt. With so little time to prepare between games, every training session is essential.
"That's the way this tournament has been," United States coach Bob Bradley said. "We started making sure last night we did the right things. They understand that you got to immediately begin preparing. The starters started with regeneration this morning. The ones that didn't start need to get to training again and by tomorrow, it's the day before game. "So it's a fast one." But the United States looked far fresher on Sunday than Egypt, even though the teams had both played Italy and Brazil with the same turnaround between matches. "Americans are typically fit and we pride ourselves on being a fit team and I think our discipline was there all night," Klejstan said. "Some of the guys probably thought it was our last game of the tournament so we might as well give it our all. "Luckily things went our way, so it worked out." Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark excelled in central midfield against Egypt, so Klejstan could be a substitute against Spain. "The team, I guess, had my back against Egypt," Klejstan said. "Hopefully I can have a chance to prove myself again." Spain eye final Although it still has to get past the US, Spain are already dreaming of playing the Confederations Cup final against Brazil. Spain have a chance to set an unbeaten mark of 36 games while also extending their record 15-match winning streak. Spain's players are as hopeful as fans of a dream matchup between two of the world's best, but the European champions still won't allow such thoughts to get the better of them. "To get to the final against Brazil would be a great game, something we all thought about before coming and we're on the way," Spain defender Joan Capdevila said Monday. "But to think beyond the semifinals would be an error. Who knows if we'll be there or not, so we have to think about the US and that's it." Spain can feel rather comfortable ahead of the semifinal match because of their amazing run, which began in November 2006, and because they had never lost in three meetings against the Americans. FIFA's top-ranked team also have a full strength lineup after Albert Riera was cleared Monday after undergoing a scan of his right hand, which the Liverpool winger hurt during the 2-0 win over South Africa on Saturday. Center back Gerard Pique also made it clear that Spain are not going to overlook their surprising semifinal opponent. "I think we start as favorites just as Brazil is favorites against South Africa," Pique said. "But as yesterday's group play showed, logic doesn't always exist in football. We have to do our work and come out looking to win from the opening moment and then we can start thinking about the final and our next opponent." Capdevila, who played in a 1-0 win over the United States in the run-up to Spain's European Championship win, was as surprised as most by Italy's poor performance at the eight-team World Cup warm-up event. "It went badly for them because they couldn't do things well," Capdevila said. "A Spain-Italy matchup would have drawn more people, but the United States is in the semifinals because they won and there's nothing more to say." Although the bulk of Spain's squad played in the friendly victory last June in Santander, the squad will still have to familiarize themselves with the Americans since they mostly watched the Brazil-Italy match on Sunday. AP (China Daily 06/23/2009 page22) |
