| Outplayed by Italy and Brazil, the U.S. soccer team once again
was on the verge of first-round elimination from a big international
tournament.
To reach the semifinals of the Confederations Cup, the Americans
needed to beat Egypt by at least three goals while the Italians
lost to Brazil by at least three.
Astronomical odds, right?
Well, that's exactly what happened.
Charlie Davies scored in the 21st minute and Michael Bradley
-- the son of U.S. coach Bob Bradley -- added a goal in the 63rd,
scoring on Father's Day for the second straight year. Clint Dempsey
then broke a nine-month international scoreless streak in the
71st, giving the United States an improbable 3-0 victory Sunday.
And in a game played simultaneously, Brazil defeated Italy 3-0.
Now it's onto a semifinal matchup Wednesday with European champion
Spain, unbeaten in its last 35 matches and the world's to-ranked
team.
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