US Loses To Germany 1-0, But Shows The World USA Soccer Is For Real

ESPN ^ | June 20,2002 | Self

[Illbay]

Nothing much to add. I saw only the last fifteen minutes of the game.

Germany went ahead on a header that'd have been nearly impossible for any keeper to ward off, and the US nearly came back and tied it--it was literally a matter of inches.

At the end of the game the German keeper collapsed to the ground.

This was a case of fighting one of THE premier teams in the world to a near standstill.

We come away from this tournament with elevated stature in international soccer.

Thank you, Team USA, you did your country proud!

USA! USA! USA!

[ameribbean expat]

hey now...nothing wrong with communist round ball...i've been playing it/following it for 20+ years and it paid for my brother's college education. delighted to see the world cup following in the US. the rest of the world is screwed because once something captures america's national attention, particularly something the entire country can get behind, it's an all out push to be number one. So the krauts may be singing "Deutscheland uber Alles" this morning, but hell they probably felt good when they sang it at Bastogne, Christmas 1944.

well done to the US national team. being mere soccer players and having no significant national league to kiss up to, i hope they take a keg to the white house.

[frmrda]

I'm patriotic and everything, but all this means is that we can all go back to not giving a rat's rear about this boring sport for the next 4 years. Granted, half the reason I was rooting for us to win was to hear the hand wringing and whining of the European "elites" about how we were taking over.

[j_accuse]

They can go back into hiding. If they can't make the finals.... pooh on them. Perhaps they can win my affection in 06. 57 posted on 6/21/02 8:13 AM Pacific by Texaggie79

You missed the Play of the Day in Korea ...

Large size picture

I did not see the match, but from the article, it appears to have been an inadvertant/unintentional handball. If so, it is not illegal and the referee was correct in not awarding a penalty kick. Just one of the breaks of the game. 58 posted on 6/21/02 8:16 AM Pacific by connectthedots

Unintentional handball is only admitted at a barrier during a free kick - not during normal game. Maybe it is time to drop some Texas gophers in those Scottish golf courses as biological payback ...

The USA's Landon Donovan (L) appeals for a penalty as team mate Gregg Berhalter (2nd L), Germany's Thomas Linke and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn (R) lie in a tangle after a shot on goal by Berhalter was ruled not to have crossed the line during their World Cup quarter-finals match in Ulsan June 21, 2002. Referee Hugh Dallas ruled that the ball had not fully crossed the line after a save by Kahn. REUTERS/Jason Reed

[Alberta's Child]

My point had nothing to do with whether the U.S. won or lost. My point was that the success of the U.S. World Cup team would not change the overall indifference of the U.S. population toward soccer.

Soccer is similar to hockey in that it is largely a "cult" sport in the U.S. 99% of the people who will ever be fans already are, and 99% of those who aren't fans have no interest in ever becoming fans.

[KC_Conspirator]

I agree that it was one of the breaks of the game. Although the handball was unintentional, the US should have been awarded a penalty kick without giving the German a yellow card. Oh well.

[Invincibly Ignorant]

Didn't prove anything. Do you know what the word LOSE means? But then again you're a global sport fan. I rest my case.

[Wyatt's Torch]

I don't know squat about soccer, errr, football but get mildly interested every 4 years. Anyway, one of my co-workers is a native German who loves loves this stuff. his comment to me was that the U.S. in now a top tier soccer nation and that the days of the US being considered a 2nd level World Cup. He also agrees that if there was even moderate interest, much less if it got the support of MLB, NFL or NHL, that the US would be a power.

[baseballfanjm]

Well, for us to get a penalty, it had to be an intentional handball. From the replay, it looks inadvertant but it's hard to tell. Either way, if he only had had his hand up at the time. If he does, it's a goal, if he brings it down, it's an illegal handball and we get a penalty kick. Anyway, did it look to you like the ball barely managed to cross the line? Not completely, of course, but the edge. That's my thought. The worst part for me (I only caught the final 8 minutes) was the missed header with only like five minutes left. It hit the side and, because the net shook, I thought it was in.

[longshadow]

Unintentional handball is only admitted at a barrier during a free kick - [snip][emphasis added]

"Unintentional" is the key word here. A direct kick can't be awarded on an unintentional foul, only an indirect kick.

Thus, no penalty kick. It arguably should have been called, and an indirect kick award to the US team at the spot of the infraction. That would have been very interesting....

[Gil4]

Football, 'cause you play it with your foot ;-)

...Michael Ballack scored on a header... (for the only goal)

[Illbay]

Relax, Shuck. It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the Civil War or your "Confederacy."

[kidd]

[longshadow]

Anyway, did it look to you like the ball barely managed to cross the line? Not completely, of course, but the edge.

The entire ball has to be over the goal line for it to be a goal. It wasn't even close.

[WL-law]

I did not see the match, but from the article, it appears to have been an inadvertant/unintentional handball. If so, it is not illegal and the referee was correct in not awarding a penalty kick. Just one of the breaks of the game.

Not true. The German's hand was away from his body, protecting more area of the goal face than his body could. He was standing ON THE GOAL LINE. The ball was passing him and just entering into the goal mouth, past his body. He had no chance to stop it, and the goalie was already beat. He then "let" the ball hit his hand, watching it all the way, AND MADE no effort to move his hand out of the way -- his hand clearly a foot away from his body. And his hand/arm was set firmly enough that the ball didn't merely graze it, the ball totally reversed direction -- rebounding out of the goal.

That HAS TO BE a hand ball and a penalty kick. The ref would have been right NOT to award a yellow/red for a DELIBERATE hand ball in the goal mouth, but he still owed US the penalty kick, because BUT FOR the actions of that german player the ball was IN THE GOAL!!!!

[Teacher317]

HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!!!

This should be a good year for me... My Steelers are going to take the AFC "North", and Mr Irsay finally got his head out of his ... and focused on defense, so my hometown Colts should take the AFC "South" with all of the newer teams (Jaguars, Titans and Texans). I just hope I'm not stuck with another Steelers-Colts AFC Championship game, where I had no clue who to root for, LOL.

[Illbay]

Yeah, I have a hard time following soccer, but when it's World Cup time, it gets my attention.

It's like the Olympics: The event is so huge you just HAVE to pay attention. But for the next three years after that, who cares who won the "World Gymnastics Competition"?

[baseballfanjm]

I missed most of the game, but from what I heard the Germans were the first team to treat us like like what we are, a threat. Our team did us proud, and the rest of the world can't take us for granted anymore. Oh, by the way, the next World Cup is in Germany.

[Illbay]

Oh, I agree. "Hey, how about that Dallas Burn!"

Nah, sorry, doesn't work.

My posting this thread is simply in tribute to an outstanding run by a marvelous group of athletes.

When they put "Team USA" on their shirts, I can't resist. I have to watch.

(P.S. No matter HOW MUCH you dislike Soccer, you GOTTA ADMIT the win over Mexico was SWEET! Especially seeing the Mex fans "melt down"--and I'm talking about the ones here in HOUSTON!)

[longshadow]

That HAS TO BE a hand ball and a penalty kick.

No, it is at worst an unintentional handball, and the best the US could have had was an indirect kick award at the point of the infraction. See #69.

[Illbay]

I disagree. It DOES "prove" something.

One of the worst aspects of Soccer, IMO, is that the score doesn't tell much about the game. Sure, that's true in other sports with which we're familiar to an extent, but in soccer it's a TRUISM.

Read the account of the game. The U.S. had Germany fighting for its life. In the minds of the German fans and players, there should have been no contest, but if you changed the outcome of the events of just a few split seconds, we could have been talking U.S. 2 Germany 1.

The score just doesn't tell the whole story--and that, to me, is a WEAKNESS in the game.