Ahn came on as a sub early in the second half and, leading a high pressure Korean offense, evened the match with a sweet header. Too bad he turned things sour with a strange pseudo-speedskating celebration. Friedel was terrific and made several major stops in the half, he has to be the man of the match for the USA. The South Korean team had some solid opportunities in addition but just could not convert. Mathis turned up with a wild Mohawk hairdo but couldn’t get any shots in the second half. Landon Donovan was breaking deep several times but kept getting pulled down and the US couldn’t make anything of the free kicks.
Still, the Americans have to be very happy, sitting at the top of Group D, with four points after two games. From my calculations, a draw against Poland on Friday morning will be enough to get us through to the next round. Even if Portugal beats Poland later this morning and South Korea in the third game, that means the Koreans finish with four points, a draw is five to us and we go through along with Portugal. The weird result would be a Portugal-Poland tie and wins for both Poland and Portugal next time, leaving everyone in the group with four points. With Poland looking like the group’s weak sister, the odds have to be with us.
Go USA!
BillSaysThis 