Apologies for the delayed recap from yesterday's men's soccer game. I was away this weekend and didn't have access to a computer anywhere near the TV where I was watching the game.
If you didn't catch the action live you missed a great, but disappointing game.
Team USA led 2-1 with about 20 seconds remaining in stoppage time when the Netherlands earned a free kick off a Stuart Holden yellow card right outside the box and pushed the ball under the wall past diving goalie Brad Guzan to tie the game.
Had the United States held on to its one-goal lead the team would have advanced to the quarterfinals and Wednesday's game against Nigeria wouldn't have mattered.
Now things are a little murkier. The United States and Nigeria both have four points. The Netherlands has two points and Japan has none.
Should the United States beat Nigeria on Wednesday they will advance with seven points. If the two teams tie, the United States will still advance with five points, even if the Netherlands beats Japan because of tie-breaker rules.
But if the United States loses, the team will need a victory from Japan, who has yet to win a game, to ensure a spot in the quarterfinals.
Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley will be unavailable for the game on Wednesday. Both were issued their second yellow card in Sunday's game, Adu for a collision with the Dutch goalie, which ended up with Adu's foot in the goalie's face, and Bradley for delaying the game in stoppage time.
The first U.S. goal came in the 16th minute off an Adu pass to Sacha Kljestan. The second goal was a Michael Orozco feed to Jozy Altidore in the 72nd minute.
Here's the stats courtesy of ussoccer.com.
Statistical Summary: USA / NED
Shots: 12 / 9
Shots on Goal: 8 / 4
Saves: 2 / 6
Corner Kicks: 2 / 2
Fouls: 11 / 14
Offside: 2 / 2
Yellow cards: 4 / 1
Red cards: 0 / 0
Substitutions: 2 / 3
(Thanks to ussoccer.com for the photo!)
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