United States striker Jozy Altidore celebrates his goal, which gave the Americans a 2-1 lead over El Salvador. The score would hold and give the USA three valuable points in World Cup qualifying.
U.S. forward Clint Dempsey takes control of the ball in a battle with El Salvador's Ramon Sanchez in the first half of play Saturday.
The U.S. took a significant step toward qualifying for soccer's 2010 World Cup in South Africa on Saturday night by coming from behind to defeat El Salvador, 2-1.
The victory, achieved on goals by Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, earned the U.S. three points and kept it firmly among the top three teams in its six-nation qualifying group with only three games left to play.
The top three in soccer's North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) region qualify directly for South Africa, while the fourth-place team goes into a playoff with the fifth-place team from South America.
El Salvador produced a skilled and lively performance, but the Americans, based on determination, resolve and the play of Landon Donovan, deserved the win, one that was preserved by goalkeeper Tim Howard diving low to his right in the 86th minute to snare a shot-on-the-turn by El Salvador's William Reyes.
"Nobody has an easy game against El Salvador," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said.
El Salvador, cheered by a surprisingly strong contingent of fans, took a shocking lead in the 32nd minute with its first road goal of the final round of qualifying.
The tying goal came in the 41st minute. Donovan took a free kick from the right flank as the El Salvador defense pushed up to draw several U.S. attackers offside. But Dempsey, who was not offside, got low to place a header perfectly inside the post.
Six minutes later, in stoppage time, it was 2-1. Donovan again was the provider, this time from the run of play rather than a free kick. He froze Arturo Alvarez, once Donovan's teammate with the San Jose Earthquakes and a former U.S. youth national player, and lofted a ball into the box for Altidore, who rose for a powerful header.
"(Alvarez) is not known for his defense," Donovan said with a wry smile. "Can't blame him."
The game should've been 3-1 in the 56th minute, when Dempsey slid to spring a terrific ball to Altidore, who beat the keeper 1-on-1. But Honduran referee Jose Pineda blew his whistle, either for a blown offside call by his assistant referee or a foul that wasn't picked up on replays.
No one could explain the call after the game, though Altidore sought out the officials.
"I asked, but I didn't really get much of an answer," Altidore said.
The USA signaled its attacking intent from the kickoff, with Michael Bradley blasting a long ball toward Davies. On a corner kick one minute in, Bornstein was the only U.S. defender to stay back, and he was left with an awkwardly bouncing ball on a counterattack that Howard needed to clean up.
El Salvador struck the typical pose of an underdog team on the road seeking a tie or some good fortune on the counterattack, with Montes wasting time on free kicks from the fifth minute onward and lone forward Zelaya trying to time a breakaway.
But when El Salvador trailed, the visitors were able to push forward and threaten.
"Given everything, they had to get something out of the game, and they poured a lot of numbers forward," Donovan said. "If we're a little better with the ball, we win the ball going away, 3-, 4-, 5-1. But given them credit, they played well."
Though Rio Tinto Stadium has a capacity of only 20,000 seats, the announced attendance was 19,066, a large drop from the 40,586 who saw a 2005 qualifier against Costa Rica in Salt Lake City's Rice-Eccles Stadium. Salvadoran fans also were in strong numbers throughout the stadium.
Davies left the game with a calf injury but said he thinks he'll be ready for the next qualifier Wednesday at Trinidad and Tobago.
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U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley talks about the last meeting between the two teams, and what to expect from this match.
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