IT WAS A HALF OF HISTORY.Byline: PAUL OBERJUERGE SUWON, South Korea - It was the most astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. 36 minutes in the history of U.S. soccer. A half-hour-and-change of head-turning, mind-blowing, did-I-really-see-that? virtuosity against an elite opponent on the world's biggest stage. Goal! Goal!! Goal The ball in the back of the net three times. Portugal agape agape In the New Testament, the fatherly love of God for humans and their reciprocal love for God. The term extends to the love of one's fellow humans. The Church Fathers used the Greek term to designate both a rite using bread and wine and a meal of fellowship that included . The soccer world agog. The U.S. national team up 3-0 in its 2002 World Cup opener in a 36-minute flurry of goals that eclipsed the Yanks' brightest dreams and the Portuguese's darkest nightmares. ``In the first half,'' U.S. midfielder Earnie Stewart Earnie Stewart (born March 28, 1969 in Veghel, Netherlands) is an American soccer player who was a regular midfielder for the U.S. national team from 1990s until his retirement in 2005. conceded, ``we did about everything right that we could do.'' That 36-minute eruption led to a 3-2 upset victory over one of the pre-tournament favorites and promptly put the U.S. in position to clinch a berth in the second round with a triumph over South Korea on Monday. ``It was incredible,'' U.S. forward Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982 in Ontario, California), is an American professional soccer player on the Los Angeles Galaxy, who is the joint all-time leading scorer for the U.S. National Team (along with Eric Wynalda). said, recalling the ``3-0'' on the Suwon World Cup Stadium 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup The following 2002 World Cup matches were held in the Suwon World Cup Stadium. First Round Matches
It was unforgettable. In 36 clicks of a clock, decades of struggle by the American soccer nation melted into a half-hour-plus of dreamy (if hard-won) bliss. Remember, Portugal was supposed to win this game. Probably in a walkover. Not only are the Portuguese better than the Americans and certainly more seasoned, but the Yanks were missing two of their better players, Claudio Reyna Claudio Reyna (born July 20 1973 in Livingston, New Jersey) is an American soccer player. He was the captain of the U.S. national team before retiring from international soccer immediately following the USA's exit from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. and Clint Mathis Clint Mathis (born November 25, 1976 in Conyers, Georgia) is a soccer forward/midfielder who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer after making his name with the MetroStars. . Coach Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American soccer coach, currently Head Coach and Sporting Director for Red Bull New York of Major League Soccer and the former coach of the United States men's national soccer team. sent out on the field something that looked more like a Major League Soccer all-star team than the kind of hardened, Europe-based professionals you would prefer to go to work with against the globe's fifth-ranked team and its top-ranked player, Luis Figo. Nonetheless, the first half turned into a a red-white-and-blue highlight reel. Five minutes in. Stewart swings a corner kick in from the left side, and Brian ``Air'' McBride gets his head on it and nods it toward the goal. Portugal keeper Vitor Baia punches at the ball and it pops right on the foot of John O'Brien John O'Brien may refer to: In public life:
O'Brien calmly sticks it into the goal and it's 1-0 faster than you can say Sporting Lisbon. The U.S. keeps coming. Pushing the pace. Driving the ball forward. Slashing behind the Portuguese defense. Twenty-fine minutes (and several outstanding U.S. scoring chances) later, Donovan has the ball on the right, just outside the box. He bangs the ball toward the goal mouth. It deflects oh-so-slightly off the head of Portugal defender Jorge Costa Jorge Paulo Costa Almeida (born 14 October 1971 in Porto, Portugal; pron. IPA: ['ʒɔɾʒ(ɨ) 'kɔʃtɐ]) is a former professional footballer, currently coaching SC Braga. , which not even Donovan claims he planned, and sails just inside the near post of the goal. Theoretically, it's a Portuguese ``own goal.'' Realistically, it's a 2-0 U.S. lead. Seven minutes later, McBride heads in Tony Sanneh's cross past a sprawling Baia. It's 3-0 and tens of millions of global soccer fans are wondering if this is Hollywood instead of the World Cup. For 36 minutes, it was all U.S., all the time. Skilled work by home-grown stars at the peak of their game for one astonishing half. Now, was that an American breakthrough we just witnessed? Or the mother of all flukes? A warning shot across the bow of international soccer or a one-time deal never to be seen again in our lifetimes? Well, we have the rest of the World Cup to gather more clues, beginning Monday with South Korea. LOOKING AHEAD: ENGLAND vs. ARGENTINA Time: Friday, 4:30 a.m. (PDT PDT abbr. Pacific Daylight Time PDT Pacific Daylight Time PDT n abbr (US) (= Pacific Daylight Time) → hora de verano del Pacífico PDT ), Sapporo, Japan. TV: ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network 2, Univision. Matchup: England captain David Beckham showed flashes of his former brilliance Sunday in a disappointing 1-1 tie with Sweden and says he is looking forward to being at his best against the tournament's No. 2 favorite. Reason and logic would favor Argentina, a 9-2 favorite which opened with a colorless 1-0 victory over Nigeria, but who can deny England? England lost to Argentina on penalty kicks in a 1998 World Cup matchup but played most of the second half without Beckham, who was ejected for kicking Diego Simeone. Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta, who now has 10 World Cup goals and is chasing Gerd Mueller's career record of 14, said it was just another important match. Prediction: Argentina 3, England 1. - Mike Morrow CAPTION(S): 2 boxes Box: (1) WORLD CUP GLANCE (2) LOOKING AHEAD: ENGLAND vs. ARGENTINA (see text) |
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