Get Out of the Cubicle
Friday, June 11, 2010
England vs. USA
Tomorrow arguably marks the biggest moment ever in the history of United States soccer. At 2:30PM EST, the US squad will kick off against England in the group round of the 19th FIFA World Cup. Soccer fans across the country are uniting in preparation for the landmark event. Some people are stocking their fridges with beer. Other are marinating steaks and burgers for the BBQ parites. Here in the Urban Escapes office we saw it fitting to prepare for the match in our own way: a video game preview…
England vs. USA - FIFA 2010 - XBOX 360
On paper, the differences in favor of England are obvious: a clear advantage in speed, depth, skill, and power. For any real chance of advancing out of the group stage, the US must at least secure a draw. Anything less would be a disappointment.
First Half: The game began as expected, with England coming out hard and making a strong argument for their dominance on the world stage. With the possession arrow heavily favoring England in the first ten minutes, USA had just one shot on goal: an attempt at a free kick from just outside the 18. With their best player, Landon Donovan at the helm, hopes were high… alas, drilled just wide. The score remains 0-0. Just under 10 minutes later, England took control of the ball and scored off a set piece (17:41). Steven Gerrard made no attempt to quell his celebration as he flaunted his jubilation in front of the USA goalkeeper. In the next 30 minutes, the US was able to establish control on the field, but not able to even up the score. The teams went in to the lockers at halftime Eng 1 - USA 0
Second Half: England came out of the gates with fire in their eyes and within minutes, Emile Hesky, under heavy attack from the US defenders, blasted a bullet into the far left side of the net putting England up 2 - 0. The match outlook looked grim for the US at this point. They certainly needed to regroup and focus. The next ten minutes was played out in the center of the field as the US continued to dominate the possession game, but could not for the life of them score. That is, until Clint Dempsey squared up in the 62nd minute and landed an off balance goal into the top right corner. Just one minute later, Michael Bradley received a key through ball from Donovan and scored the equalizer making it 2 - 2.
With the unlikely upset in their sites, the US put all their hope on their star player, Landon Donovan. In the 81st minute, Donovan sliced through the line of English defenders and finessed a shot past the British goaltender to take the lead. The US squad held off England for the next 9 minutes and secured the victory. Coming back from 2-0 at one point, USA rallied and won 3-2.
An amazing upset that will go down in FIFA history as one of the greatest matches ever.
