From: Hildegaard Beauregard [ljlife@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2002 7:41 AM
To: Lee Jerome Life
Subject: You don't get points for trying

Reporting from World Cup Watch Central.

As most everyone expected, Germany defeated the United
States in their World Cup quarterfinal match, ending
the surprising U.S. run in the tournament. How the
Germans got to their 10th World Cup semifinal,
however, was not quite the way soccer historians,
oddsmakers or doomsayers were predicting.

Germany won 1-0 on Michael Ballack's header from a
Christian Ziege free kick in the 39th minute. But that
was against the run of play. Prior to that, the U.S.
had created the best chances, Landon Donovan causing
trouble several times at the German end. The U.S.
dominated possession throughout the match, certainly
in the second half when the Germans fell back to
protect their lead and waited to counterattack. But
even in the first half, the U.S. played their best
fundamental soccer of the tournament, controlling the
ball, moving it around and attacking well to *make*
the Germans defensive. 

For all that, however, there was no payoff. The record
of the best U.S. World Cup campaign since 1930 will
stand with the great goals that shocked Portugal and
Korea and Mexico.

Donovan (who plays for the San Jose Earthquakes) had
the best chance in the 17th minute, flashing on a solo
run that had the Germans reeling. He broke on the
right side, tapped the ball through the feet of the
defender and juked around him, then charged to the
ball and on into the penalty box. He fired low and
across German keeper Oliver Kahn, but Kahn got a hand
on the ball to send it just beyond the far post. In
the 30th minute, Donovan took a pass from Claudio
Reyna and appeared to be offsides. But there was no
call as he stormed the box again, with no one to beat
but Kahn. He moved right up to Kahn just outside the
post, but as defenders approached, his snap decision
was a kick with his left foot, to beat Kahn to the
near post. That was too easy for Kahn to save, and
Donovan was frustrated at himself. In the 36th minute,
Brian McBride, the other forward, rushed in from the
left and sent the ball across. It was deflected back
out to Eddie Lewis near the top of the box, and Lewis
slammed it straight at Kahn, whose block sent it high
in the air and out of play.

The U.S. had chances in the second half, too, and one
of them was about as close to a goal as you can get.
It produced a controversy over whether it was a goal,
or even a handball. It was in the 50th minute and
Donovan had taken another shot from inside the box
that Kahn deflected around the post. Off the corner
kick, Gregg Berhalter sent the ball downwards for the
goal near the post. Kahn got there a bit late and
deflected the ball against Torsten Frings who was
guarding the post. The ball seemed to hang in the air
before it bounded back down to Kahn, who covered it.
The U.S. players pointed and shouted that it had
crossed the line. Replays gave no such evidence but
did show that the ball had hit Frings on the hand. A
"hand of god" for the Germans?

Nonetheless, the Germans were too strong on defense,
and Kahn was superb. The taller Germans beat the U.S.
players to headers throughout, especially on crossing
passes to the German penalty box. As the game wore on
and the U.S. wore down, they began to show the same
sloppy play they had shown in the second half of their
previous matches, aimless passes, passes right to the
opposition, lack of coordination. Coach Bruce Arena
pulled defender Frankie Hejduk for midfielder Cobi
Jones in the 65th minute, committing the U.S. to the
attack. The U.S. pressed and, with their sloppier
play, the Germans had several fast breaks, coming
dangerously close a couple of times.

One final good chance by the U.S. came in the 89th
minute, when Clint Mathis (who came on as a substitute
in the 58th minute) crossed in from the right and Tony
Sanneh got a solid header. But it missed just off the
side, hitting the net outside goal.

Germany's seminfinal match will be against the winner
of Korea Republic v. Spain.

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