A 3-1 loss to Italy after leading throughout the first half. followed by a 3-0 loss to Brazil, leading to a last place tally in the Confederations Cup’s group B standings. Not good.

Ok, so what did the U.S. men’s soccer team need to do to avoid elimination?

1.  Defeat Egypt by three goals.

2. Hope Italy loses by three goals to Brazil.

Check and check.

Improbably, the U.S. men’s soccer team found net on multiple occasions in a 3-0 victory over Egypt, while nearly simultaneously, the 4th ranked and defending World Cup champion Italian team was shutout three-nil on first-half goals by Brazil.

The U.S. goal differential was enough to squeeze past three-way tiebreakers and into a “rewarding” matchup with No. 1 Spain in the semifinal, per ESPN soccernet.

What were Twitterers thinking afterwards?

1. 
   michaelryanlane Amazing effort by US mnt soccer today to get to Confederation Cup semis! Watch as they take on world #1 Spain Wednesday 130PM ESPN. 22 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   KyleBrees Thank you brazil for killing Italy so US could advance and not look so bad in soccer 22 Jun 2009 from txt
3. 
   TripleFo It’s a good day to be a US soccer fan! 22 Jun 2009 from web
4. 
   ibvanmat Soccer is the second leading story on Sportscenter. Am I still living in the US? 22 Jun 2009 from Twitterrific
5. 
   beingchristian Still can’t bieve what US Soccer pulled off today. That kind of thing never breaks for us like that. 22 Jun 2009 from Tweetie
6. 
   ryanbaxter can’t believe that the US soccer team actually advanced from a group with Brazil, Italy, and the African champions. Next up – Spain. 22 Jun 2009 from Tweetie
7. 
   Nejd US soccer team beats the odds and qualify for the semifinal for SA world cup .They will meet Spain .Congratulation 22 Jun 2009 from web
8. 
   spankyq Congrats US Soccer! After that humiliation against Brazil, way to look like a legit international side. Now more humiliation against Spain! 22 Jun 2009 from web

Italy and Brazil captured by a Twitterer:

A beautiful night in South Africa saw Brazil shutout Italy 3-0, helping the US advance

(TwitPic by @ismail)

Did the U.S. deserve to advance? How will they fare against Spain? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @BTsports!

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