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Miracle run over Golden dream dies for U.S. as Spain advances
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Spain returned to the gold medal match for the second time in three Olympics with a 3-1 victory over the United States Tuesday, getting two goals nine minutes apart in the first half and confidently holding on for the win. AC Milan forward Jose Mari Romero beat American defender Danny Califf twice to set up goals for Raul Tamudo and Miguel Angulo, then scored once himself to cap off the game, and the Americans provided only spurts of dangerous moments to trouble Spain. The victory sends Spain to the gold medal match for the first time since it won the title in Barcelona in 1992, earning it a game against Cameroon on Saturday. Cameroon, outplayed by the U.S. in a 1-1 first-round draw, beat Chile 2-1 in the other semifinal in Melbourne. The Americans, who had never advanced past the first round until Sydney, still have a chance at a medal, in the bronze medal game Friday, when they will take on Chile. The United States had slightly more possession and the only good chance in the first 15 minutes, but a quick counter by Spain swung momentum quickly the Europeans' way. Jose Mari twisted Califf several times, and set up the first goal by winning the ball at midfield, racing down the right before sending a one-hop cross to Raul Tamudo, who buried a half-volley from inside the six-meter box in the 16th minute. Spain then began to dominate and the Americans, with Jose Mari overwhelming Califf and scoring a second nine minutes later. Jose Mari outleaped Califf, who fell on the turf slick from a pre-game drizzle, near the top of the penalty box, controlled the ball and slipped a through pass to Angulo. Angulo had beaten Frankie Hejduk and rolled the ball under a helpless Brad Friedel for a 2-0 lead. Jose Mari arrived in Sydney hobbled by a leg injury, was substituted out in the preliminary round matches against South Korea and Morocco and did not even play against Chile. "He had one of his best days," Spanish manager Inaki Saez Ruiz said. "He was involved in every goal. He's gone from minus to plus, plus." Trailing by two goals and with the Americans having trouble holding possession, U.S. manager Clive Charles inserted Bayer Leverkusen 18-year-old Landon Donovan and Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Sasha Victorine for Ramiro Corrales and Chris Albright in the 38th minute. The move appeared to settle the Americans, and they got back into the game two minutes later. Conor Casey sent a non-threatening cross into space on the right side of the penalty area, where Hejduk beat Angulo to the ball.
Angulo's momentum carried him into Hejduk, bringing him down and earning a penalty from Tunisian referee Mourad Daami that Pete Vagenas converted for his third goal of the tournament, all of them from the spot. The Americns had more of the possession in the second half but created very little that looked dangerous. Coming off a 5-4 penalty kick victory over Japan on Saturday night, Charles praised Spain but also felt the 120 minutes three days earlier sapped his squad. "We just were a yard off tonight," Charles said. "I think the effects of the last game eventually took their toll. I thought it caught up with us. "We got a goal, but we just couldn't step on it. The gas was out of the tank." With the Americans pushing forward, Spain capped off the victory on another counter. Tamudo hit a shot from the left side of the area that Friedel tipped away, only to direct it into the path of Jose Maria, who shot into an open net. "At the end of the first half, we had it tough," Jose Mari said. "But in the second half, we showed character, had high morale, had our moments. We worked hard for the victory, but the most important thing is we got the result." --- Lineups United States: Brad Friedel; Chad McCarty, Jeff Agoos, Danny Califf, Frankie Hejduk; Ramiro Corrales (Landon Donovan, 38th minute), John O'Brien, Pete Vagenas, Chris Albright (Sasha Victorine, 38th); Josh Wolff, Conor Casey. Spain: Daniel Aranzubia; Jesus La Cruz, Ivan Amaya, Carlos Marchena (Unai Diez, 46th), Carlos Puyol; David Albelda, Xavier 'Xavi' Hernandez, Tony Velamazan (Gabriel 'Gabri' Garcia, 76th minute); Miuel Angulo (Jordi Ferron, 76th), Jose Mari Romero, Raul Tamudo. Referee: Mourad Daami, Tunisia. U.S. coach: 'There is no gap'The U.S. men's soccer team made up some ground on the established powers during the Olympic tournament. But when it came to moving into the gold medal match, the old guard proved it still rules. After advancing through the tournament to an unprecedented and unexpected semifinal, the Americans got a reality check Tuesday in its loss to Spain. Spanish coach Inaki Saez Ruiz had some consoling words of encouragement, saying he thought the United States improved immensely. But he said he knew the Spanish were going to be too good in the semis. "I think the USA will continue to progress, they have the population and undoubtedly they will improve in soccer," he said. U.S. men's coach Clive Charles said his under-23s closed the gap on the so-called superpowers of Europe and South America. "I'm not going to talk about a gap. The gap is closed, there is no gap," Charles said. But the Spanish showed too much flair in the opening 25 minutes, with forward Jose Mari Romero setting up two goals. Then in the 87th minute, he swooped in on a rebound after U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel made a diving fingertips save on Raul Tamudo, and sealed the result for Spain. The striker celebrated with an impersonation of an airplane coming into land, diving chest first, arms spread-eagle as he slid across the slippery surface. Charles said he was disappointed with the result, but he couldn't be disappointed with the team. "They've been fabulous," Charles said after Spain, the 1992 Barcelona gold medalists, advanced to a gold medal game against Cameroon, a 2-1 winner against Chile in the other semifinal in Melbourne. Charles said last Saturday's dramatic quarterfinal win against Japan, when the United States took a 5-4 shootout after two periods of sudden-death overtime failed to break a 2-2 deadlock, had taken a physical and mental toll. "We just never got out of the starting blocks," Charles said. "We were just a yard off the pace. We tried to play through them, but our final ball was never really there, our first touch was never really there." He said it was critical now for the Americans to focus on a bronze medal match Friday against Chile. The semifinal "is gone. We've done too well to dwell on the negatives. We're preparing ourselves now to play for a bronze medal." After advancing atop Group C with ties against the Czech Republic and Cameroon and a win against Kuwait, the U.S. Olympic roster shaped up as a serious medal contender when Italy, Brazil and Nigeria were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Considered the perennial underachievers going into the tournament, the U.S. men said they were playing for respect. They were also coming out of the shadow of the U.S. women's team, the defending World Cup and Olympic champions. Defensive midfielder John O'Brien, who plays for Ajax in the Netherlands, said the odds on the women gaining gold were a lot higher than for the men to grab a bronze. "We traveled to Sydney for two games, it could have been the gold medal game or the bronze medal game," he said. "So we maybe were not completely focused for this game. We did come out a bit sluggish."
After falling behind 2-0, the U.S. men's now trademark comeback skills deserted them in the rain before more than 35,000 spectators. Vagenas, who also nailed vital penalty kicks against Cameroon in the preliminaries and Japan in the quarterfinals to keep the Americans alive, had no difficulty with his first-half penalty. The Americans came on after their double substitution, but the Spanish were too skilled and, after a brief lull following halftime, hit full speed. Cameroon 2, Chile 1 At Melbourne, Lauren lifted Cameroon on a penalty kick two minutes from the end of regulation time. The Indomitable Lions rallied from a goal down, scoring twice in the final seven minutes. After Chile went ahead on an own goal by Patrice Abanda in the 78th minute, Patrick Nboma tied it in the 83rd. Lauren then drove home the decisive penalty kick after Chile defender Pablo Contreras knocked downed Nboma in the penalty area. It was another dramatic triumph for the Africans, who beat Brazil 2-1 in extra time of the quarterfinals while playing with just nine men.
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