Suck it, Mike

Oh, Mike.

Mike, Mike, Mike.

Resident USA hater Martin Fabricio, a.k.a. Mike "Mister Man" Herrmann, just didn’t believe in magic. Either that, or he provided some nice bulletin-board fodder for the Yanks, who just blanked Spain, of all teams, in the Confederations Cup.

USA 2, Spain 0 is your final from South Africa, and the Americans will head to the final.

USA caused one of the biggest surprises in international football history by beating European champions Spain to reach the Confederations Cup final.

Jozy Altidore scored the opener when he turned his marker Joan Capdevila to fire in from 15 yards.

Fulham’s Clint Dempsey doubled the lead when he converted Landon Donovan’s pass from close range.

Tim Howard saved from Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas before USA's Michael Bradley saw red for a tackle of Xavi.

Sounds like the U.S. side actually mounted up a bit of defence, not to mention some offensive firepower. I have not seen the game yet, but it sounds like goalie Tim Howard and the American defence were the keys to the match. It also sounds like we mounted a better all-around game, as the New York Times notes:

Tackling by the United States was superb, deference was nonexistent, recovery was vigilant and dramatic:

A muscular shoulder halted a Spanish run. A head arrived just in time to clear a ball away. A desperate slide smothered a shot. A leg raised at the last second deflected a threatening pass.

After a 3-0 win over Egypt on Sunday and an unlikely advance to the semifinals after defeats to Italy and Brazil, the United States’ previous caution became assertiveness. Against a team so secure in possession of the ball, the United States dictated the action at times, while Spain seemed back on its heels, out of sorts, its players grumbling and frustrated, raising their arms and leaning their heads back in exasperation.

The United States sent its captain into the lineup for the first time in the tournament. Carlos Bocanegra, who had missed the first round with a hamstring injury, returned Wednesday, this time at left back instead of his usual position in central defense.

The Americans preached patience and resilience.

With the win, the Americans prevented Spain from setting a new world record of 36 games without a loss.

I suppose Mike might log on and defend his lameness, but then again, he's probably "too busy" to blog.