RUSTENBURG, South Africa — On the verge of elimination and facing long odds, the United States came up with an improbable semifinal berth at the Confederations Cup.
BC alum Charlie Davies scored in the first half, and Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey (former member of the New England Revolution) added goals in the final half hour to lead the United States over Egypt 3-0 yesterday.
The United States needed to win by three goals and have Italy lose by three, and that's exactly what happened.
Combined with Brazil's 3-0 defeat of world champion Italy, the United States finished second in Group B and will face European champion Spain on Wednesday, a day before Brazil (3-0) meets host South Africa.
Davies scored in the 21st minute following a U.S. throw in.
Bradley, the son of U.S. coach Bob Bradley, scored on Father's Day for the second straight year, connecting off a give-and-go with Landon Donovan in the 63rd minute.
Dempsey scored the goal that put the U.S. over the top eight minutes later, taking a long cross from Jonathan Spector and beating El Hadary with a diving header.
