U.S. 2-2 Slovenia on Soccer Nation, Soccer News, Youth Soccer, Pro Soccer, Club Soccer, Soccer Training

Michael Bradley of USA celebrates his goal, 2-2. U.S. vs Slovenia in the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 18th, 2010.

Valter Birsa (10) of Slovenia is surrounded by Landon Donovan (10) and Francisco Torres (16) of USA.
U.S. vs Slovenia
All Photo Credit: Joe Toth ISIPhotos

GREAT GAME, 2-2 draw.

U.S. rallies after half time to comeback strong. First time U.S. comes back from from 2 goals down in the World Cup.

An exciting game towards the end, and one in which the referee changed the fate of the game, maybe even of the World Cup.

Bob Bradley said "A lot of emotion went into the second half, still do not know why the goal was disallowed."

Bradley continued "It is important to understand that the players put a lot of emotion into the game and they want a fair outcome. This team still understands how to fight for 90 minutes."

GAME RECAP: Although the U.S. team entered the field and after half time and played with urgency in the second half, the U.S. still has a long way to go. To the thrill of U.S. fans world-wide, Landon Donovan scored three minutes after half time, making it 2-1 in favor of Slovenia.

Donovan received a long ball from midfield and chose not to pass, but to drive the ball into the goal. Donovan dribbled the soccer ball close to the goal and shot a right-footer into the upper corner of the net and scored a beautiful goal.

Michael Bradley tied up the match with his goal as the second half continued. Then, the third, game winning goal was disqualified. The U.S. might have won this match if referee Koman Coulibaly had not ruled out a goal from Maurice Edu, who shot the ball into the net off of Donovan's free-kick. U.S. goalkeeper Howard was strong in the second half and when Novakovic threatened another goal for Slovenia with a header, Howard grabbed the ball easily.

American fans can not rest easily yet. If Slovenia continues to lead in Group C, they will move ahead to the second round, leaving the U.S. a must-win against Algeria, plus the outcome of England is uncertain. Stay tuned for more exciting soccer as the World Cup continues.

Comments:

Submitted by: Dave Brooks, San Diego Surf Soccer Team Manager BU9 Premiere

"WHAT A GAME !! Kids should learn from this to never give up. I think the US needs to play a more physical game, to not just sit back and be content that they are playing their positions well, but to dominate the field by enforcing their will to win through the positions they are playing.

I think kids and parents should understand that the landscape of US Soccer is changing dramatically each year. That many of the players on the current MNT focused on many sports as they were growing up, many of them not fully commiting to soccer until well into their teens. The more we focus on soccer the better we become, the longer we focus on soccer the better we become. Messi was recruited by FC Barcelona at the age of 11 while living in Argentina. If Messi played football, basketball, soccer, swimming and decided to focus on soccer when he was 16 he would have never become the Messi we know.

Every time you play soccer you put a penny in the soccer bank. The more you play and the earlier you start the fuller your soccer bank will be, and you will be able to draw on that bank to help see you through the difficult games like the one the US MNT played today.

For the US to take the next step of being able to dominate the game on the worlds stage they will need to be able to win games like today 4-0 and the only way to do that is going to be by playing, playing, playing from a very early age."