USA 3 Portugal 2
I'm already tired of every headline using the words like "shocking" and "upset" to describe the USA's huge win over Portugal early this morning. This may be the biggest win in US soccer history, but to refer to it as "huge" and/or "shocking" upset is selling the US Soccer program short.

This result has been in the works since 1990, when an overmatched US squad qualified for Italia '90, mainly due to the disqualification of Mexico in regional qualifying. That was merely a stepping stone for '94, when as hosts we used some luck to gain a match against Brazil in the round of 16, taking solace in the 1-0 loss to the soon-to-be-champs as a "good result." That tournament was successful, in so much as it gave the US program a chance to play more World Cup games, something that can't be replicated in qualifying or friendlies.

After '94, the MLS was born, providing the domestic league so important in developing players. Filled primarily with North and Central Americans, it also is home to enough South American and European players to lend it credibility, and more importantly the competitive level to develop future stars. The USA has also remained competitive at the international level, playing in a number of lower-level tournaments and often getting good results against perrenial international contenders. The power of the USA program was building, very quietly, and no-one outside of USA soccer seemed to notice.

Of course, France '98 was a disaster, gave the US side nothing to build on, and seemed to signal that the high-water mark of US soccer had passed. The problem is, that wasn't the case at all, and looking back, it seems that the tournament caught the US in an awkward transitional phase -- the type of problem that even Giants like Brazil and Germany face. It also didn't help that the USA struggled in qualifying for this World Cup. But again, in hindsight, it becomes clear that injuries, combined with the usual difficulties of freeing players from their European clubs, contributed heavily to those struggles. Everyone seems to forget that, after qualfying was over and the US had safely won their spot, they went out and won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in convincing fashion.

The build-up to Portugal was fraught with more difficulties. Much of the good work that had been done developing the team seemed to be diminished with a bad 2-0 loss to Netherlands 3 weeks ago, and a string of injuries crippled the team. Critics grew fond of pointing out their 0-4 record against European sides -- wanting to ignore the fact that those involved losses in Germany, Italy, and Ireland, three places Anyone would struggle to win -- and seemed to extraploate that into making Portugal and Poland unbeatable -- even though those games would take place on nuetral soil.

Still, the World Cup is the World Cup, and any side without succes in this tournament is suspect -- even if they have done well in other tournaments -- and the US laid an egg in '98. However, everyone also seems to have forgotten that at least the US has Been to the last 3 tournaments. This is Portugal's first visit since '86, and superstar players like Luis Figo -- 2001 FIFA player of the year -- were making their World Cup debuts. Experience counts, folks.

The MLS should be proud, with 11 of the 23 USA roster members calling the league home, including a few of the 12 European-based players having cut their teeth in the league. The development of a strong Domestic league is the single biggest factor in the rise of US soccer.

But now about the game itself. The fact the US took the field with a lineup NOT including Claudio Reyna OR Clint Mathis was shocking, to say the least, but the lineup worked. Landon Donovan is about to make The Leap, and may be the most skilled ball handler on the squad. Brian McBride is showing he can be a big target man and ball winner up front, and was the Man of the Match in my book. It will be nearly impossible for Bruce Arena to get him off the field. The midfield of Beasely, O'Brien, Reyna, and Stewart (left to right) is World Class, and with Reyna injured, Pablo Mastroeni was plugged in for defensive purposes. Mastreoni was solid in the first half, but Reyna was sorely missed in the second half, when the US needed possesion and leadership to hold the lead. John O'Brien may be the most under-rated player on the US side. In D, Tony Sanneh, on the right side, was everything you could want out of that position, standing up to the Portugal Flank attack, including Figo, and even touching the cross of his life to McBride for the 3rd goal. As shakey as Agoos was, with an own goal, Eddie Pope was solid, providing clinical marking in the back. Franke Hedjuk provided speed and physicilaty on the left side, and even though he fouled to much, it was good not to see mistake-prone David Regis over there.

Joe Max-Moore and Cobi Jones came on as second-half substitutes and did their job; provide hustle and spark, help tire Portugal, and help kill the clock. These two guys aren't the most skillful, but they play their asses off, and bringing Moore in for a gassed Donovan -- who had left everything out on the field -- was an inspired move for Arena.

A win in the World Cup is Huge, no matter how you come about it, and this one is bigger, against a top European side, and in a convincing manner. That isn't to say the US won easily, but they won definitively; that is to say they weren't just lucky, or it was a fluke. Both teams had own-goals (with Donovan's weird bounce off a Portugal defender for the 2nd goal) but the US made superior goal-scoring plays over Portugal. The first goal, 4 minutes in, set them back on their heals, and they didn't recover until it was 3-0, when they used a lucky bounce just before half-time to get back in it.

BUT... this isn't a colosal upset, or an improbably dream come true, and dont; let the cadre of American Sportswriters tell you that it is. This is strong result, and a big win, by a USA side that has been working towards this for a generation of players.