Forget beating the African champions. Spain hadn’t lost since November 2006. That’s 15 straight victories, 35 straight matches without a loss, and 451 straight minutes of shutout play.
Those shutout minutes came to a decisive end when Deuce played a ball with a little flair to his teammate, who turned his marker and finished strong. Then Deuce would add the dagger in the 74th, driving home a deflection from inside the penalty area for his 15th international goal.
Add in the stalwart, quintessentially American physical D played by Gooch, DeMerit, and Boca, a stunning performance by Howard, and that’s a shutout W.
The finals are on Sunday, as the MNT plays the winner of Brazil vs. South Africa. We’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain!