Things would be ok, however, because the U.S. would lose Wednesday to the No. 1 Spanish team and everything in the soccer world would go back to normal.

Far from it.

The Americans, outshot 29-9 in the match, recorded a stunning 2-nil victory in South Africa to advance to the finals against the winner of Brazil and host South Africa, per ESPN.com.

An American fan proclaims victory over Spain

(TwitPic by @xh1gHxVoLt4g3x)

Jozy Altidore, who plays for Spanish club team Villareal, scored in the 25th minute– dodging one of his Villareal teammates in the process– to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead at halftime.

Clint Dempsey provided the winning margin with a goal in the 73rd minute, while goalie Tim Howard was remarkable, amassing six key saves. Get additional commentary at Soccerblog.com.

Here’s the reaction from the United States of Twitter:

1. 
   LorrieLiane Team USA > Team Spain….crazy! 24 Jun 2009 from twitterfeed
2. 
   Antoniodr USA defeated Spain 2-0, Good win for us, atleast they show us that for a moment we’re also good at soccer! 24 Jun 2009 from web
3. 
   annyrei woot! The USA actually semi-wins at something! We beat Spain and are going to a FIFA final! We notoriously suck at soccer! Was it a miracle? 24 Jun 2009 from web
4. 
   KINGNORDIC USA WILL BE ONE OF THE SOCCER SUPER POWER SOON ! 24 Jun 2009 from web
5. 
   cliffwegner If USA can keep it close and play fairly even with (I assume) Brazil, they’ll gain some respect. If they get hammered, well… 24 Jun 2009 from Tweetie
6. 
   Akiborbor Go USA! I definitely didn’t give them any chance to beat Spain. But damn, they did it….good game guys! 24 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry

 On a scale of 1-10, how surprised were you the US beat Spain? Comment below or tweet @BTsports or @BTSports_Brian!

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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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And if today’s action was any indication of what is to come during next summer’s World Cup, held  June 11 through July 11, football fans worldwide should reserve their tickets now.

Match One: Brazil 3 – USA 0 (Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Tshwane/Pretoria)

Not too many surprises here as the quick-footed Brazilians came out scoring early as Feliple Melo’s header seven minutes in put the Americans in a blur of green as the yellow jerseys and blue shorts of the Samba Kings ran up and down the field, per FIFA.com. The Americans played a man down for the second game in a row when midfielder Sacha Kljestan was sent off by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca for a lunge on Ramires in the 55th minute. Goals in the 20th minute by Robinho and the 62nd by Maicon sealed the fate of the U.S. national team, who find themselves in an 0-2 hole in group play after losing to Italy 3-1 on Monday, but still alive after Egypt’s surprise 1-0 shout of Italy (see below).

The Twitterverse responded:

1. 
   bloghill watching #fifa #usa vs #brasil … the incessant horns sound like angry #bees! #vuvuzela !!! Buzzzzzzzzzzz! 18 Jun 2009 from web
2. 
   ObiSun Brazil is showing Team USA why they have 5 World Cups. #fifa #worldcup #fb 18 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
3. 
   cgh3rd USA soccer is in sad shape. #fifa #mls #soccer 18 Jun 2009 from web
4. 
   bfafootball Brazil walked all over the US in the Confederation Cup, winning 3-0 18 Jun 2009 from web
5. 
   fireb0x EGYPT WINS! THE US IS STILL ALIVE IN THE CONFEDERATION CUP! Thank the gods! 18 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck
   
   

Match Two: Egypt 1 – Italy 0 (Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg)

Per FIFA.com, the African champions Egypt carried the momentum of their oh-so-close 4-3 defeat to Brazil on Monday to a 1-0 triumph over defending World Cup champions Italy this evening. Mohamed Homos’ goal in the 40th minute was all Egypt needed to hand Italy its first ever loss to an African team. Per ESPN.com,  Egypt had only won once in their last five matches but never looked overawed by the Italians who had 13 shots, 6 on goal, compared to the Pharaohs 4 shots, 2 of which were on goal.

People on the streets of Egypt celebrating the victory against Italy -the world cup champions- in the FIFA Confederations Cup earlier that day until the police came and forced them to move along (@digitalsin)

Egyptians rejoiced when the final whistle blew as the TwitPics and Tweets from “The Gift of the Nile” show (@Theodore_May provided some keen insight):

1. 
   Theodore_May at a cafe watching italy v. egypt. no empty seats deafeningly loud everytime egypt gets it across mid-field 18 Jun 2009 from mobile web
2. 
   Theodore_May still 0-0. im trying hard to pretend im interested. 18 Jun 2009 from mobile web
3. 
   Theodore_May 1-0 Egypt. Wow. lots of hugs and tears. somebody brought a drum and everyone is chanting “Egypt!” 18 Jun 2009 from mobile web
4. 
   daliaziada I am so proud of Egypt soccer team! Wow! We won Italy… Yahoooooooooooo! 18 Jun 2009 from web
5. 
   wishing4one egypt vs. italy Confederations cup (soccer)- egypts wins! u would think its a revolutuion here, unbelievable! horns,drums,screaming NUTS! 18 Jun 2009 from web
6. 
   Theodore_May Egypt beat Italy! Means Sunday is Egypt vs. USA. I’ll be at a cafe cheering like the obnoxious American I am. 18 Jun 2009 from web
7. 
   lifelifelife2 We WON… Egypt won Italy -the winner of THE ” world cup” 2006 (soccer)- (1-0)!! Our next match is with the USA! 18 Jun 2009 from web
   
   

The standings for Group B show Brazil on top with six points, Italy and Egypt tied for second with three, and the U.S. in last place with no points. Believe it or not, all teams are still alive to advance pending the results of the next matchups: Brazil meets Italy and Egypt meets the U.S. on Sunday.

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1. 
   hexablog #hexagonal09 In Soldier Field…must be at least 15-1 Honduran fans here. Even in the club seats. 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   radiomogul At Soldier Field now. The place is a sea of blue and white. One again, Sam’s Army is in the minority. htp://twitpic.com/6saqt 06 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck
3. 
   chicagosessions At Soldier Field. Hondurans out in FULL FORCE. 06 Jun 2009 from Twitterrific
4. 
   mek2600 at soldier field in #chicago watching #usa vs #honduras in a world cup qualifying match. usa! usa! #worldcup (so many hondurians!) 06 Jun 2009 from TinyTwitter

Here is a scene pre-game at Soldier Field. Can you spot the American fan(s)?

USA vs Honduras soccer game!!! (@sethboyte)

There was some pre-game confusion as to which ESPN channel the game would originally air on due to NCAA baseball super regional action on the network. @ussoccer cleared up the confusion:

1. 
   jaredstimson @ussoccer still on espn right? 06 Jun 2009 from UberTwitter in reply to ussoccer
2. 
   bdure_usat Keeping an eye out for whether @ussoccer game against Honduras will be moved to another ESPN net. College baseball running long. 06 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck
3. 
   ThisIsVictorKim @ussoccer what’s this college baseball on espn? any alternate channels? 06 Jun 2009 from web in reply to ussoccer
4. 
   ussoccer TV UPDATE: The broadcast will start on ESPN classic and then switch to ESPN when the baseball game ends… 06 Jun 2009 from web

@BTSports_brian provides some pre-game observations from Soldier Field:

1. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports The crowd noise is deafening especially on lower level #USHON 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports The whole crowd is blue except for one red spot. Everyone is going crazy as Honduras takes the field #USHON 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
3. 
   BTSports_Brian http://twitpic.com/6sd0u – @BTsports The Hondurans take the field to the delight of the crowd #USHON 06 Jun 2009 from TwitPic
4. 
   BTSports_Brian http://twitpic.com/6sdmh – @BTsports The Americans take the field to cheers and boos and begin to warm up #USHON 06 Jun 2009 from TwitPic
5. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports Honduran fans are doing the wave– pregame!– and even the giant hanging blue and white flags are getting raised #USHON 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry

The teams line up for their respective national anthems:

US and Honduras line up for national anthems #USMNT #Honduras (via @BTSports_Brian)

Action early on proved costly to the Americans as Carlos Costly of Honduras scored in the fifth minute. Costa Rica scored within the first two minutes on Wednesday night, and the Americans were not able to bounce back. Lets see how this turns out. First, reactions after the first goal:

1. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports Honduras strikes first 4 min in! Big left-footed shot just outside of box! #Honduras 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   jyesko Honduras 1 USA 0. 5th minute. Crowd goes wild. 07 Jun 2009 from Tweetie
3. 
   CorrSports Honduras goal by Costly in 5th. Honduras fans going wild … some people who shouldn’t be cheering are nearby me 07 Jun 2009 from web
4. 
   tokissthecook Hondurans scored, Soldier Field in its entirety shook, 70% of the crowd THREW their beers. 84 minutes to go. Yikes! 07 Jun 2009 from mobile web

While action at Soldier Field proves to be exciting in the opening minutes, action at the pub scene in Chicago seems to be tame. @pjflynn23 reports from Fado, known to be a high-energy soccer bar in Chicago:

1. 
   pjflynn23 @BTsports I’m gonna have some tweets live from Fado. THE place to watch soccer in Chicago supposedly. I’ll be the judge of that… 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterFon
2. 
   pjflynn23 @btsports Fado is pretty quiet. Hear it was crazy an hour go. Everyyone went to the game. It’s filling slowly though#ushon 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterFon
3. 
   pjflynn23 @btsports people at Fado laughing at slow US start. Nobody really interested in game yet though. #Honduras 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterFon

Back to first-half action on the field per @BTSports_Brian:

1. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports another US free kick this time from 30yds out but again off #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports yellow card on US! #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
3. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports High US shot over the goal! Great chance off header! #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
4. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports Donovan sent a cross far side to head of defense. Tried one time shot before it landed but tooi high #USMNT #Honduras 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
5. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports since Honduras scored, the ball has been in US end most of the time #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry

Just before hafltime, American Landon Donovan put one in the back of the net in the 43rd minute off a penalty kick:

1. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports Honduras handball in box! PK time! #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports Donovan to shoot #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
3. 
   BTSports_Brian @BTsports GOAL!!! Upper right! #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
4. 
   pjflynn23 @btsports the only reaction to the US goal at Fado was a high piitched girl yelling “no!” #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitterFon
5. 
   BTSports_Brian http://twitpic.com/6smlz – @BTsports Donovan scores and US fans go crazy #USMNT 07 Jun 2009 from TwitPic

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“I think we let ourselves down,” said U.S. team member Jozy Altidore. “But this is a blue collar team and we’ll pick each other up and hopefully show people tomorrow.”

The Americans are looking to start strong this against Honduras, seeing as they trailed to Costa Rica 2-0 just 13 minutes into the game. Nobody knows this more than U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley.

We lost the game in the first five minutes, and that’s not like us,” Beasley said. “We have to show that we’re a team that can bounce back from a result like that.”

“People say we’re have a lot of pressure on us, and to be honest, we do. Because we feel like we’re a good team and we should go to the World Cup, but we need to show it.”

Twitterers are nervous and excited about the  qualifier:

1. 
   rustywatkins Really hoping the US MNT has a better showing tomorrow against Honduras #football #WC2010 05 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   Timhanlon Gut-check time for soccer in Chicago this weekend – Fire tonight vs. Houston, US Nats vs. Honduras Saturday 05 Jun 2009 from Ping.fm
3. 
   gaeblerdotcom Psyched that I have tickets to US-Honduras soccer game tomorrow! 05 Jun 2009 from web
4. 
   drsilva08 Come on US Soccer lets not choke when we play Honduras tomorrow 06 Jun 2009 from web

The U.S. will need to win the remainder of its home matches to qualify. Honduras, the last team to beat the Americans at home in 2001, is heading into the match still riding high from a 3-1 win over Mexico on April 1.

“They’re strong, they’re fast, they’re a lot more organized than past teams we played against,” Beasley said. “So, it’s not going to be easy.”

Honduras will also have the luxury of playing what will probably feel like a home game. The crowd for Saturday’s game is expected to be in the Hondurans favor at around a 4-to-1 ratio.

Beasley believes his team won’t be bothered by the crowd.

“I think the boys, we’re used to it,” he said. “We’ve been playing away games at home for nine or 10 years since I’ve been here.

“You know you’re not going to get a real big crowd unless you go to Columbus (OH),” joked Beasley, referring to an upcoming game against Mexico being held in Columbus, Ohio.

The game kicks-off at 7 p.m. CST.

US Soccer team warming up for practice at Soldier Field-By @pjflynn23

Where will you be watching the US-Honduras match? Comment below and follow @BTsports as we run a Live Tweet Log and provide Twitpics of the match!

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