Good news, bad news

U.S. happy with effort, but laments missed chances

ULSAN, South Korea -- "I thought it was a hand-ball."

So said U.S. defender Gregg Berhalter after his 50th-minute shot from close range appeared on replays to hit the left forearm of German midfielder Torsten Frings, preventing the ball from crossing the goal line in Friday's World Cup quarterfinal.

If referee Hugh Dallas had agreed with Berhalter, he would have called a penalty, perhaps given Frings a red card and awarded the U.S. a golden opportunity to tie the game.

Instead, Dallas gave the Germans a goal kick.

The Americans lost 1-0 here Friday night, stopping their stunning World Cup run just two steps from the final, and yet for the most part they didn't feel robbed by Dallas' disputed no-call.

"We created enough chances, we should have put one in," said captain Claudio Reyna, who played the most spirited game of his long international career. "You can't blame the officials. They didn't see it. We're not going to cry like Mexico did."

If you'll recall, in last Monday's second-round game against Mexico, U.S. midfielder John O'Brien punched the ball from the penalty box with his hand -- a clear penalty that wasn't called -- and the Mexicans complained loudly afterward.

Perhaps it was karma working against the Americans Friday night, the notion that they were due for a bad call. Whatever. The Germans won this game because 1) they were ever dangerous sending balls into the box on re-starts; and 2) they didn't make late-game defensive mistakes, like the kind that led to Italy's demise against South Korea.

Look, Germany is not a hugely talented team. But it was moderately successful moving the ball down the Americans' left flank and drawing fouls against Eddie Lewis and Berhalter, who combined for eight calls in the first half alone (one more than the entire German team). It was one of those fouls, by Lewis, that gave Germany the free kick on which it scored.

If DaMarcus Beasley's bruised knee had been healthy enough to allow him to play on the left side, he likely would have been better able to keep up defensively with the Germans than Lewis did. Given the Americans' 3-5-2 formation, a ton of pressure was placed on Frankie Hejduk (on the right wing) and Lewis (on the left) to not only get forward but also track back on defense. Lewis struggled in this task, and the U.S. paid for it.

There will be another time and place to discuss the big-picture significance of the U.S.'s performance in this World Cup, but the Americans have a right to feel both proud and frustrated about this game. Proud that they played toe-to-toe with a three-time world champ, even outplaying the Germans at times. And frustrated that although they created more scoring opportunities than did Germany (six shots on goal to two), they couldn't finish the Germans off and therefore didn't get the result they might actually have deserved.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl covers soccer for the magazine and will contribute frequently to CNNSI.com throughout the World Cup tournament.

 

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