The US clearly outplayed the Germans, but what matters in the end is who scores the most goals. Germany finished one of a small number of chances and the US could not finish any of a greater number of chances.
Well, assuming that you don’t consider Torsten Frings standing on the German goal line with his arm several inches away from his body and in the path of a certain goal to be a handball in the box. The US should have finished their other chances, but Berhalter’s shot that ricocheted off Kahn would have been a goal.
As others have cogently argued on the BigSoccer boards and elsewhere, Frings should have been called for a handball in the box that stopped an obvious goal scoring opportunity. This would have resulted in a penalty kick for the US and a red card, and therefore, an ejection for Frings. The current German coach, Rudy Voeller, and a former German coach, Franz Beckenbauer, both agreed that it should have been a penalty kick.
When you are a defender standing on the goal line, your only function is to block the ball from going into the net. If you stand with your arms away from your body and the ball hits one of your arms, that’s intentional. You put your arm in a likely path of the ball. If this weren’t considered intentional, then why don’t defenders always stick out one or more arms before a ball is kicked? As someone posted in BigSoccer, why don’t they line up in the wall for a free kick with one arm over their heads and the other protecting vital organs? Because if the ball struck their arm, it would be an intentional handball.
Some messageboard posters have argued that it is a question of the ball playing the person (not a handball) or the person playing the ball (handball). They argue that Frings didn’t move his arm into the path of the ball, instead the ball hit his arm where it already was. But, if you accept the arguments above, I think you will agree that stationing your arm in the likely path of the ball IS the person playing the ball.
Well, enough of that. The US, especially Reyna and Sanneh played wonderfully. Sanneh gets my pick for MVP of the tournament for the US. Donovan was unlucky to be facing possibly the best goalkeeper in the world. Against most other keepers he would have scored twice.
Friedel didn’t have much to do. While he got a piece of the ball on the Ballack goal, it would have been almost too much to ask to keep out a header from that close in. If he gave up a rebound, Ballack might have put that away. Germany had only one other shot on goal. The only other dangerous opportunity was the Klose header off the right post on which Friedel was admittedly beaten.
O’Brien, Mastroeni, Berhalter, Pope, McBride, and Hejduk all had fine games. Lewis again played good defense while putting in some excellent crosses. Mathis, Jones, and Stewart did what they could after coming in as subs, which is always tough in a close, tense game like this one.
My only disappointment with the US was with the number of fouls. While you have to respond physically to physical teams, the US gave up to many fouls in dangerous spots. Given the incredible set piece skills of the Germans, that was asking for trouble.
Although I am disappointed by the US loss, they had a fantastic run at this World Cup. Four years seems so far away, but Sandra and I are already planning to be there in person to see the US go even farther in the tournament.
Well, I hope the US will make it even better in Germany 2006! It’s going to be a great Cup!