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JEONJU, South Korea (Ticker) -- Brian McBride and Landon Donovan each tallied a goal as the United States advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup with a 2-0 victory over CONCACAF rival Mexico. The U.S. won an elimination game for the first time in the World Cup and squares off against Germany at Ulsan on Friday. McBride hit the back of the net in the eighth minute following a run by captain Claudio Reyna on the right side. Reyna passed to Josh Wolff at the top of the goalkeeper's box. The 25-year-old forward turned and set up McBride in the middle about nine yards from the net. McBride sent a shot into the far corner through Mexican defenders for his 20th international goal. Donovan finished a counterattack by Eddie Lewis on the left flank in the 65th minute with a full-stride header for his second goal of the tournament. "Our guys left everything on the field. I'm real proud of them," American coach Bruce Arena said. "It's a great day for U.S. soccer." The U.S. last had a shutout in the World Cup against England (1-0) in a group match in 1950, considered one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. The U.S. did play in the semifinals of the 1930 inaugural World Cup in Uruguay, but the format was not the same and just 13 nations participated. Despite owning the advantage in ball possession and pressure much of the game, Mexico was unable to get anything by veteran keeper Brad Friedel. Ramon Morales made the first attempt after 15 minutes with a drive just wide of the left post. Cuauhtemoc Blanco had the best opportunity in the 35th minute. Friedel punched a cross away, but the ball went to an open Blanco in the middle of the area where his shot was denied by the American goalkeeper. Braulio Luna tested Friedel with an accurate free kick in the second half. Luna bent one from wide right which Friedel pushed over the net. On the ensuing corner kick, John O'Brien used his hand to prevent the ball from reaching Blanco's head. The foul went unnoticed by referee Vitor Melo Pereira of Portugal. "A U.S. player hit the ball with his hand and everyone saw it on the big screen, but the referee didn't catch it," Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said. "But since football is judged by humans, it can happen." Pereira issued five yellow cards to each team and sent off Mexico's Rafael Marquez for an aerial head-on-head challenge on Cobi Jones. "It's a rivalry, we know each other and there's been a lot of bad blood over the years, but when the game is over, we're friends again," said Arena of the heated contest. Arena used a wise strategy. Reyna played well in a defensive role, while Gregg Berhalter and Pablo Mastroeni clogged the middle of the backline. "Reyna played a position he was not used to, and he came through big," said Arena, who also started Lewis and Wolff. "I felt Eddie Lewis' time has come. And Gregg Berhalter, Josh Wolff were ready to go. I thought we needed some fresh legs in here today. It's been a difficult tournament with a number of games played in a short period." It was by far a better American performance than the group finale against a robust Poland in which the U.S. was caught flat-footed and suffered a 3-1 defeat. The Americans reached the second round as Korea defeated group favorite Portugal. Germany beat the Americans in a test match on March 27 in Rostock, 4-2. The teams also met in the 1998 World Cup, with the Germans winning 2-0 in group play. |
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