At halftime of the Confederations Cup final Sunday, when the United States was stunningly ahead of Brazil by 2-0, midfielder Landon Donovan allowed himself a moment to dream.
“It wasn’t this moment of, Oh my God, we’re beating Brazil,” he said. “It was, O.K., we’re playing well, let’s keep going.”
But almost as soon as forward Luís Fabiano scored a minute into the second half to fuel Brazil’s ravenous comeback, the United States had lost an opportunity to elevate its international stature.
“We were talking in the locker room that if Italy or Spain or Brazil or Argentina are up, 2-0, at halftime, they’re not losing, period, maybe rarely,” Donovan said. “We need to get smarter and we need to be able to finish out a game like that, regardless of who we’re playing.”
Despite Sunday’s aching 3-2 defeat, the United States gained confidence here that it can challenge the world’s best teams, and in the case of No. 1-ranked Spain, sometimes beat them. Individually, Donovan demonstrated that he, too, belongs among the international elite.
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“It wasn’t this moment of, Oh my God, we’re beating Brazil,” he said. “It was, O.K., we’re playing well, let’s keep going.”
But almost as soon as forward Luís Fabiano scored a minute into the second half to fuel Brazil’s ravenous comeback, the United States had lost an opportunity to elevate its international stature.
“We were talking in the locker room that if Italy or Spain or Brazil or Argentina are up, 2-0, at halftime, they’re not losing, period, maybe rarely,” Donovan said. “We need to get smarter and we need to be able to finish out a game like that, regardless of who we’re playing.”
Despite Sunday’s aching 3-2 defeat, the United States gained confidence here that it can challenge the world’s best teams, and in the case of No. 1-ranked Spain, sometimes beat them. Individually, Donovan demonstrated that he, too, belongs among the international elite.
