|
 The
U.S. Men’s National Team recorded a resounding 3-0 victory on
Wednesday evening against Panama at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in
Panama City, further entrenching the team’s bid for a birth in
the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006. The 3-0 win was the second of
the week for the U.S. in World Cup qualifying and came courtesy
of goals from Carlos Bocanegra, Landon Donovan and Brian
McBride.
The victory improves
the U.S. to 4-1-0 halfway through qualifying, and places them in
second place in their six-team group with 12 points, just one
behind Mexico’s 13. With Mexico defeating Trinidad & Tobago 2-0
tonight at home, the gap between the U.S. and fourth place (the
qualifying cutoff point) was widened to eight points after Costa
Rica downed Guatemala, 3-2 at home.
“We are the first
team in this cycle to beat Panama at home,” said U.S. Manager
Bruce Arena immediately following the game. “As critical as we
are sometimes of our performances, getting a result like that is
exceptional. The first goal was big, the second goal was
terrific, and then Kasey Keller once again was tremendous. In
most game reports, that will go unnoticed, but those three saves
were tremendous. Overall, we did what we had to do. The back
line played very well and we scored opportunistic goals.”
Carlos Bocanegra
opened up the scoring after just six minutes for the U.S.,
heading home a powerful shot off the hands of goalkeeper Donald
Gonzalez and off the underside of the crossbar after a
well-placed corner from Landon Donovan. The goal was the sixth
of the high-scoring defender’s national team career.
 "I just got up and
got high on the ball and put it in," said Bocanegra. "It was a
big goal, especially in a hostile environment. We knew we had to
go and get goals and force them to chase the game. We got really
confident after the third goal, but we knew anything could
happen. We didn't want to have a repeat of Saturday (where the
U.S. struggled early in the second half against Costa Rica)."
After setting up
Bocanegra’s opening goal, Donovan tallied himself in the 20th
minute. On the goal, Steve Ralston stole a ball on the right
flank and raced down the field hitting a near-post cross to a
streaking Donovan 10 yards from the goal. Donovan was able to
rise above Panama’s Felipe Baloy and curl a header just inside
the far post for a 2-0 lead.
"I just put the ball
in," said Ralston on his assist. "I don't know how he got to it,
but that was an amazing header."
For Donovan, the
game’s opening goal and assist continued his torrid streak of
having scored at least one point in 12 of the USA’s 13 World Cup
qualifying games on the road to Germany 2006. Donovan’s scoring
pace in high-profile qualifying matches is unrivaled in the
history of the U.S. Men’s National Team.
The third U.S. goal
came after an intense 20 minutes of pressure from Panama and
effectively killed the game for the United States going into the
second half. On the goal that iced the game, McBride was fouled
in the 40th minute, giving the U.S. a free kick from 35 yards
out. Donovan's cross into the area was powered out of the
penalty area, rolling to Frankie Hejduk 30 yards from goal,
where he hit a low ball that was cleared errantly by Panama
defender Felipe Baloy. The poor touch landed at McBride's feet
12 yards from goal, and while leaning back, the USA’s second
all-time leading scorer managed a left-footed shot that caught
Gonzalez off-guard and hit the inside of the net on the right
side of the goal, giving the U.S. a 3-0 advantage.
"That is a great
percentage, we will take that any time," said Ralston about the
USA's three goals on four shots in the first half. "The first
two goals were really huge, and after that we were able to sit
back a little bit and ride it out and come up and take our
chances on counterattacks. They were still a very dangerous
team. Kasey made three great saves so we knew that at 3-0, they
were still dangerous."
With their goals,
McBride and Donovan continue to move up the USA’s all-time
scoring chart, with McBride now sitting on 28 all-time goals
(six behind Eric Wynalda for the top spot). Donovan’s tally
moved him ahead of Bruce Murray into fourth place all by himself
with 22 goals, just two behind Joe-Max Moore’s career totals.
Additionally, McBride now has nine qualifying goals all-time
(tied with Stewart for the U.S. lead), while Donovan now has
seven (tied with Eddie Johnson for third all-time).
"We can't think
about it," said McBride referring to the 2006 FIFA World Cup and
the USA's strong qualifying position. "It is nice. It is good
that we've put some wins together now. We got three points and
we just need to continue to do that. Two wins from now, we'll be
OK, but until then, we'll just think about the next game."
The saves by Keller
that Arena referred to in his post-match comments came in a
bang-bang stretch with the U.S. leading 2-0 midway through the
first half. In the 26th minute sequence, Julio Medina hit a
cross into the penalty area where Roberto Brown powered a header
pegged for the right corner that Keller sprawled to his left to
save.
On the first
rebound, Baloy was lurking at the far post and slammed a shot
toward goal that Keller stuffed from five yards out. The rebound
of Baloy’s attempt then popped into the air where Brown’s second
shot was headed sharply from three yards out, where Keller
somehow sprung from the ground into its path to not only stop
the attempt, but snare the shot in his hands. The sequence of
three brilliant saves for Keller took all of five seconds.
For Keller, the
shutout was the 39th in his 81-game U.S. MNT career and his 17th
in 29 World Cup qualifying appearances. The goalkeeper also has
three straight qualifying shutouts and a shutout streak of 327
minutes.
The only bad news
for the U.S. on the evening came in the 10th minute when
defender Eddie Pope picked up his second yellow card of
qualifying, requiring him to sit out the USA’s next qualifier
(on Aug. 17 against Trinidad & Tobago in East Hartford, Conn.).
On the night, Pope was making his 30th appearance in World Cup
qualifying for the U.S., tying him with Earnie Stewart and Cobi
Jones for an all-time U.S. best.
Lost in the shuffle
of the dominating win was the fact that the victory for the U.S.
marked just the fifth time in 17 World Cup qualifiers in Central
America that the U.S. was victorious.
Following tonight’s
game, the U.S. takes a short break in advance of the 2005
CONCACAF Gold Cup, which kicks off for the team against Cuba on
July 7 in Seattle. The U.S. also plays Canada on July 9 in
Seattle and Costa Rica on July 12 in Foxboro, Mass., as part of
Group B action. The 12-team Gold Cup runs through July 24, with
the semifinals and finals set for Giants Stadium in East
Rutherford, N.J.
The U.S. resumes the
second half of their FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with
consecutive home games against Trinidad & Tobago on Aug. 17 in
East Hartford, Conn., and against Mexico on Sept. 3 in Columbus,
Ohio.
About Induction 2005
The
National Soccer Hall of Fame will host
Induction 2005 in
Oneonta, New York on August 27th - 29th. Induction Weekend kicks
off on Saturday, August 27th with a
Pub Night starting at
7:00 p.m. Then on Sunday, August 28th the Hall of Fame will
present the 2nd Annual
Hall of Fame Golf Tournament
presented by Nike at the Delhi Golf Course in Delhi, New York.
For those who are interested in exploring beautiful Otsego
County there will a
Leatherstocking Summer Sampler
tour at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday.
The Hall of Fame will host the
President's Reception & Dinner
starting at 6:00 p.m. in the Hall of Fame's Museum.
The
Induction Ceremony on
Monday, August 29th
honors three of the most identifiable
players in U.S. Men's National Team history as
Marcelo Balboa,
John
Harkes, and
Tab
Ramos
will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame
starting at 10:00 a.m. and ceremony is free of charge and open
to the public in the Museum. The
2005 Hall of Fame Game
will kick off at 1:00 p.m. on August 29th on the Hall of Fame campus.
Tickets for the
Hall of Fame Golf Tournament,
President's Reception & Dinner
and the
Hall of Fame Game are available at the Hall of Fame
or by calling 1-800-545-FAME (3263).
About the National
Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum
Located in
Oneonta, NY, the National Soccer Hall of Fame opened a 30,000
square foot, state-of-the-art museum in 1999. The Hall of Fame
tells the story of soccer in
America through artifacts, photographs, and video clips. The new
Hall features an extensive interactive, youth oriented Kicks
Zone where visitors have fun kicking,
heading and playing computer trivia stations and video
soccer games. The VideoWall portrays some of the greatest
moments and the greatest goals in history as well as live soccer
action with World Cup, MLS, and U.S. Soccer matches. Unique and
rare artifacts on exhibit range from the world’s oldest soccer
ball to the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy won by the USA in
1999,
Pelé's and Mia Hamm’s uniforms, Kristine Lilly’s golden
shoes, NASL championship rings, the original MLS championship
trophy, MLS gallery - it’s all at the National Soccer Hall of
Fame. In addition to the interactive Museum, the National Soccer
Hall of Fame complex boasts the
Kicks
Zone Store,
a research library, four world-class soccer fields and
office/meeting facilities. The Hall plans to add a stadium, an
indoor soccer arena and housing facilities in the future.
The mission of
the National Soccer Hall of Fame is to celebrate the history,
honor the heroes, inspire the youth and preserve the legacy of
soccer in the United States.
Related Information
Clavijo Elected to the Hall of Fame as Veteran |
Pre-NASL Induction Announcement |
Hall of Fame Game Team Incentive Program |
