Facing Spainsh Football in Their "Siglo de Oro"

It’s been awhile since the world trembled at the might of Spain. Fear that was once felt at the end of musket, sword and military might is now felt from the feet of Villa, Torres, Xavi and others. On Wednesday, the Americans, the unlikeliest of Confederations Cup semifinal participants, find themselves standing in the way of a Spanish force the likes of which have not been seen since El Siglo de Oro.

To truly grasp the task ahead of Bob Bradley and his team, one need only look at Spain’s swath of destruction left across the international football landscape. The Spanish National Team hasn’t lost a match since November of 2006, that’s nearly two years and eight months. They won the European Championship in 2008 and have yet to lose a match in their World Cup Qualifying run…in fact they’ve only given up two goals in World Cup qualifying matches and they haven’t allowed a goal in 2009 (7 matches).

Spain’s two headed monster of David Villa and Fernando Torres have six goals in this tournament and will provide Tim Howard and the US defense with a daunting challenge. Combined with the midfield wizardry from the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Xavi and Xabi Alonso, and there is ample reason for the Americans to be concerned. Can the US keep Spain from scoring and scoring a lot? I doubt it, but we didn’t think they would defeat Egypt either. That said, Spain is no Egypt.

But stranger things have happened. Even the best teams have bad days. Clearly the Americans are confident after their 3-0 “hooker assisted” dismantling of Egypt on Sunday and to an extent, they deserve to be. Had the USMNT been an accident victim of Sunday morning, doctors would have pulled the plug. The combination of factors that had to occur for the US to even be in a position to face Spain seemed impossible, yet here they are. It’s another opportunity for this team to try and make a statement and it’s an opportunity they will ultimately let fall by the wayside.

Spain is the best team in the world right now, odds on favorites for the World Cup next season and too big of a fish for the Americans to hook. No matter how badly Spain defeats the US tomorrow, most American fans will write it off as losing to the best team in the world and focus back of World Cup qualifying with that all too familiar sense of overconfidence about what Bob Bradley and this team can really accomplish. The overally performance of the USMNT in the Confederations Cup is borderline awful, one match doesn’t erase the first two match results. However, playing well or an improbable victory against Spain could go a long way towards fixing that perception. Under the right circumstances the Americans can get a big victory, but when the pressure is on and the spotlight shines they wilt and die.

Come tomorrow, when the spotlight of the world is upon them and the pressure of facing the best team on the planet is on their shoulders, don’t be surprised when they wilt again.