Football 4 All

It may have only been half-time in their second outing, but USA were already resigned to an early flight home. Having lost their opener 3-1 to Italy, Bob Bradley's team trailed Brazil 2-0 en route to a 3-0 defeat that left the door seemingly padlocked on their chances of reaching the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009 semi-finals.
Their third game, against in-form Egypt, seemed a mere formality and prelude to a long voyage home. Frown lines were showing on the players' faces and talk had turned, somberly, to the hard lessons learned at the competition.
It was this feeling of resignation that made the scenes at the final whistle of the 3-0 win in Rustenburg on Sunday all the more meaningful. "People had written us off, they didn't believe in us," Clint Dempsey, Budweiser Man of the Match and scorer of the crucial third goal that took USA, against all the odds .