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US, Brazil meet with Gold Cup final berth at stake
Miami (USA), July 23: Facing Brazil has typically been a humbling experience for the United States men`s soccer team, which has won just one of 11 matches against the world power.
Still, five straight shutouts and three easy wins so far
in the Concacaf Gold Cup have given the Americans no shortage
of confidence heading into today's semifinals.
"It's a more difficult opponent than we've played in the
last three games, but the fear of playing Brazil isn't what it
used to be for us," United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller
said. "You still have to respect them tremendously, but we
know we can compete now."
The winner will play either Mexico or Costa Rica at
Mexico city in Sunday's final; the loser will play Saturday
in Miami in the tournament's bronze medal game.
Keller is the only us goalkeeper to beat Brazil, making
10 saves to lead a 1-0 upset in the 1998 gold cup semifinals.
That, however, came on a Chilly, rainy night in front of a
pro-us crowd in Los Angeles.
This match is being played on us soil, but Brazilian fans are certain to outnumber the American fans by a wide margin. The United States is 2-3-9 all-time in Miami, where the city's large Latin population tends to result in it having no home field advantage.
"Playing in front of a big crowd, whether they're for or against you, is motivating for me," said United States forward Landon Donovan, who scored four goals in the quarterfinals against Cuba. "If there's 1,000 American fans and nobody else in the stadium, I'd rather play in front of 30,000 Brazilians. It's incentive and motivation to just quiet them."
Brazil, which sent its under-23 team to the Gold Cup even though the tournament is the Championship of north and central America and the Caribbean, has looked sharper with each match in this tournament.
It opened with a 0-1 loss at Mexico, then beat Honduras 2-1 to close the opening round and dominated Colombia 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
"They're very good. Extremely good," Donovan said. "I think they probably should have beaten Mexico in Azteca, which isn't easy to do. It'll be difficult but it's a game we think we can win."
The Americans, who won the gold cup last year and are unbeaten in their last 11 matches in the event, have been rarely tested this year. They beat El Salvador and Martinique by 2-0 scores in the opening round, then cruised past Cuba 5-0 in the quarterfinals.
This match is being played on us soil, but Brazilian fans are certain to outnumber the American fans by a wide margin. The United States is 2-3-9 all-time in Miami, where the city's large Latin population tends to result in it having no home field advantage.
"Playing in front of a big crowd, whether they're for or against you, is motivating for me," said United States forward Landon Donovan, who scored four goals in the quarterfinals against Cuba. "If there's 1,000 American fans and nobody else in the stadium, I'd rather play in front of 30,000 Brazilians. It's incentive and motivation to just quiet them."
Brazil, which sent its under-23 team to the Gold Cup even though the tournament is the Championship of north and central America and the Caribbean, has looked sharper with each match in this tournament.
It opened with a 0-1 loss at Mexico, then beat Honduras 2-1 to close the opening round and dominated Colombia 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
"They're very good. Extremely good," Donovan said. "I think they probably should have beaten Mexico in Azteca, which isn't easy to do. It'll be difficult but it's a game we think we can win."
The Americans, who won the gold cup last year and are unbeaten in their last 11 matches in the event, have been rarely tested this year. They beat El Salvador and Martinique by 2-0 scores in the opening round, then cruised past Cuba 5-0 in the quarterfinals.