Play-by-play

We're minutes away from kickoff as the teams stand for the national anthems. The team captains, Casillas for Spain and Bocanegra for the U.S., commence proceedings by making a couple of statements decrying racism in world football. Can't argue with that. Wouldn't have minded seeing them denounce the Vuvuzelas too while they're at it.

By the way, the referee is Jorge Larrionda from Uruguay, U.S. fans might remember him from the last World Cup ...

1 min: We are under way and Spain immediately settles the ball and starts playing it around. Riera gets the ball early down the left, breaks to the byline and lays back an inviting cross across the 6-yard box that is cleared by the U.S.

2 mins: Donovan catches Ramos' heel as the Real Madrid man tries to go behind his back. Free kick in a dangerous spot, but Spain opt to play it short and wide to Cesc. His cross is deflected and spirals towards the U.S. goal, where Howard palms it over to be safe. The corner amounts to nothing for Spain.

3 mins: First corner of the day for the U.S. as Altidore wins it by banging the ball off Puyol. Donovan sends a deep cross which sees Casillas flap at it, but Capdevila heads clear.

4 mins: First yellow of the day, Donovan is late with a tackle on Alonso, who goes down. Certainly a foul, but a bit harsh to see a card for that. Moments earlier, a long ball down the inside-right channel had almost sent Davies free, but Casillas came racing out to clear outside his box.

6 mins: Almost a spectacular opening goal. Altidore and Dempsey combine nicely down the right and Dempsey dinks in a nice cross that Davies tries to overhead scissors kick into the net. That's a pretty good effort and the U.S. has started very well.

8 mins: Almost a goal again for the U.S. Dempsey gets the ball on the top of the box, turns and fires in a ferocious daisy-cutter that is this close to finding the net. Casillas was beaten there.

9 mins: Spain looks surprisingly nervous, but Cesc serves up a reminder of what they can do. Nice work down the left from Villa who knocks it back to Cesc, who unleashes a fierce 25-yard volley which soars over.

11 mins: Clark gives the ball away in midfield, the Spanish work it around on the left as Xavi and Riera play a neat little triangle. Riera dinks the ball past Dempsey and Spector into Cesc in the U.S. box. Cesc curls a pass to the far post looking for Torres, who volleys wide under pressure from Bocanegra. That was a pretty good chance for Torres, who seems to have his funk on. I can safely say I've watched nearly every game he's played in the last four years and you can usually tell from El Nino's early body language what type of a game he's going to have and whether he's going to score. He doesn't seem really up for this one so far.

14 mins: So far Villa and Torres have been very quiet, Villa picks the ball up deep and tries to play a one-two with Xavi but it's broken up by Bocanegra and cleared.

17 mins: Spain breaks and bypasses midfield with a swift ball out to Cesc on the right. Cesc dinks a chip into the middle which is gathered by Torres, who spins and gets off a quick snap shot that Howard does well to parry. It wouldn't have counted if he'd scored in any case, as Torres is flagged for offside. I don't think he was, but it's moot.

20 mins: A wayward pass by Xavi as his pass to Fabregas is actually deflected by Villa to Donovan who breaks with the ball. Donovan is in acres of space and tries his luck from about 30 yards, but it's well wide.

21 mins: Spain almost strikes first. Ramos breaks down the right in acres of space, cuts into the box and tries to tee up Villa. After a series of deflected efforts, the ball ricochets out to Riera out wide on the left of the box. He's got lots of time, but opts to slam the ball across the box in a shot-turned-cross, when a gentle chip to the wide-open Torres would have been the wiser option.

24 mins: As expected, lots of possession for Spain, but so far not too much cutting edge. The Spanish are starting to look a little flustered.

26 mins: GOAL! U.S. 1-0 Spain. Dempsey and Donovan combine down the left, before Dempsey prods a ball to Altidore. Altidore shrugs off Capdevila with a spin, and places a shot past Casillas. It wasn't the most powerful of shots from Altidore, but Casillas was caught wrong-footed and was only able to palm it onto his own post and in.

29 mins: Spain still stroking it around, but there's no doubt they're a little shocked. Ramos sends a deep cross to the far end of the box to Villa, who traps it, cuts inside and unleashes a shot, but Spector is there to block and clear.

31 mins: Almost an equalizer for Spain. A long-range effort from Cesc bounces off Torres' heels and lands fortuitously at the feet of Villa. He's in the box with only one man to beat, cuts to his right but blazes wildly over.

35 mins: The U.S. has a free kick in a dangerous spot out on Spain's left. Donovan sends a perfect dipping pass to the far side of Spain's box which finds the head of Dempsey. It's a good chance for Dempsey but he heads over, with Bocanegra screaming at him to leave the ball. Bocanegra was in perfect position, that could easily have been two for the U.S.

37 mins: Fantastic approach play from Spain and Xavi which carves the U.S. defense open. Fabregas slides the ball in to Torres, who's wide open in the 6-yard box, but the pass is just behind him and a frantic U.S. defense scrapes it clear.

41 mins: Spain has a free kick just on the edge of the U.S. box to the left. Xavi tries to square it, but Donovan races forward to clear, but Spain work the ball back in and Villa bursts to the byline. He pulls it back and for a moment it looks like Ramos will sweep it home but Onyewu makes a clutch sliding tackle to clear. Fantastic defending from the big man.

44 mins: Torres almost single-handedly pulls Spain equal. He turns Bocanegra inside out down the left channel, blows into the box, and hammers a low left-footed shot goalbound to Howard's left. Howard stabs out his leg to parry and the ball is eventually cleared.

HALFTIME: U.S. 1-0 Spain.

Well, well, well -- it appears that the U.S. team's confidence was indeed justified. That was a magnificent first half by Bob Bradley's men. How the U.S. has gone from its shambolic loss to Costa Rica a few weeks ago, to matching Spain blow-for-blow is quite anybody's guess. If they play like this in the second half, we could possibly see a huge, huge upset.

46 mins: The second half is under way. You can tell the Spanish are flustered. Cesc just had an argument with Xavi over a misplaced pass. Right away, the U.S. puts Spain on its heels with a cross into the box, which Donovan gathers and squares across the box looking for Davies. Pique clears the danger and the U.S. has a corner which Dempsey does well to reach but heads over.

47 mins: Nice build-up again from Spain. Cesc gathers on the top of the box, slides it to Villa who unleashes a tremendous left-foot shot that appears as if it's arcing into the bottom left corner but Howard springs to his left and parries away. Great save, and from the ensuing corner, Alonso sidefoots a 25-yard curler just over.

50 mins: Spain controlling possession again. Xavi gathers on the edge of the U.S. box, he has Villa to his left and Torres to the right, but opts to try his luck instead. The shot deflects off DeMerit and it's a corner.

51 mins: The U.S. are defending very deep right now with Spain coming at them in waves and with lots of energy. From another corner, Villa gathers on the edge of the 6-yard box, switches it from his right to left foot but then slams his volley at about 1 mph straight at Howard. Spain's certainly not helping its cause with finishing like this.

53 mins: Possible penalty for Spain but the appeal is turned down. A delicate chip by Cesc almost sends Xavi free in the box, but he's bumped over by a trailing Donovan and falls over. Appeals all round, but Xavi looked suspiciously offside there in any case. Moments later, Riera drifts down the left, cuts inside Spector and with 4-5 players waiting in the box, slams a weak right-foot shot well wide. Bad decision-making again from Riera. David Silva on for Riera makes the most sense. For the U.S., a midfielder to replace Clark might be a good idea.

57 mins: Spain still dominating possession but still not getting anywhere. After what seems like forever, Xavi finally tries to prod the ball into the box looking for Torres, but Donovan makes a nice interception and breaks with the ball. He tries to send Davies free down the right, but Pique comes over to make the tackle.

59 mins: You can tell Spain is really starting to get desperate now. Villa picks the ball up outside the box, about 30 yards out, he steams forward with Torres running into space but opts to try a long-range effort that goes wide. He could have sent Torres clear there. The U.S. come right back with a long ball which reaches Altidore in Spain's box, but he's muscled off it by Puyol.

62 mins: Spain again with clever approach play, Ramos' chip into the box finds Villa, who lays it off to Riera. Riera winds up and slams a shot goalbound but DeMerit with a heroic block. Spain comes right back as Ramos stings Howard's palms twice in succession from long range and forces the U.S. keeper to make back-to-back saves. The U.S. is barely holding on here.

65 mins: Riera breaks past Spector down the right and pulls the ball back. It runs past everyone to Ramos who's rushing into acres of space and Ramos winds up, but his shot is blocked by a sliding Clark. Great defending yet again. Santi Cazorla is warming up for Spain.

67 mins: Donovan is practically playing center back now. Cesc dribbles past Bocanegra on the left in the box, gets to the byline and chips it back, looking for Torres, but Donovan is there to head clear. The U.S. make a sub, Benny Feilhaber on for Davies. Presumably Dempsey will move up front again as he did against Egypt.

69 mins: The U.S. makes its first sortie into the Spanish half for what seems like the first time in ages. Dempsey holds the ball up on the edge of the Spanish box, and lays it out wide to Donovan. Donovan's chip to the far edge of the box is too long for Feilhaber.

70 mins: An upset is looking more and more likely. I'm not sure the U.S. has the legs to last through extra time, so if its going to win, it'll be in regulation time. Twenty minutes for Bradley's men to hold on.

72 mins: Riera again with the ball out left, slides it in looking for Torres, but DeMerit is there to put off the Liverpool man and the ball bounces out of bounds. DeMerit has been outstanding today.

73 mins: GOAL! U.S. 2-0 Spain. Pandemonium. Feilhaber breaks with the ball, feeds Donovan in space outside the Spanish box. Donovan opts not to shoot and prods a pass into the box. It evades everyone, but Ramos dawdles with the ball in the 6-yard box, and Dempsey comes from behind to come in and put it away. Horrendous mistake by Ramos who incurs Casillas' wrath, and great hustle from Dempsey.

75 mins: Believe it people, this upset is happening. I can't see Spain coming back from this with just 15 minutes on the clock.

77 mins: Mata comes on for Riera as Spain roll the dice. In the meantime, Xavi is taken down outside the box by Feilhaber. Villa winds up but hits a soft effort straight at Howard. It must be said that Villa has been poor today, as has Riera.

80 mins: Cazorla down the left, tees it up for Alonso outside the box, who unleashes a fierce first-time shot that is, unfortunately for Spanish fans, straight at Howard.

82 mins: Eight minutes from glory. Ramos crosses into the box as Capdevila tries to get on the end of that, but is called for an infringement. Casey is on for the U.S. to replace Altidore.

84 mins: Mata, who's looked lively, down the left again and sends in a deep cross which Onyewu does well to clear. From the corner, Villa gets the ball with his back to goal in the 6-yard box and tries to dribble around three U.S. defenders, but not surprisingly fails.

86 mins: The obligatory red card for the U.S. comes out and it's for Michael Bradley, which means he'll miss the game against Brazil on Sunday. I'll have to see a replay to get a better idea of that one. On first thought, I'd say it was very dubious, but possibly a yellow from a strict ref.

87 mins: From the free kick, Spain work it into the box, it's half-cleared several times, falls to Puyol in the 6-yard box, and his shot is blocked by DeMerit and Onyewu simultaneously.

88 mins: Yellow for Pique. Not that it matters much at this point. This game is pretty much done, Spain's goose is cooked. This is a stunning result.

90 mins: Three minutes of stoppage time until glory for the U.S. I'm guessing Altidore will see some more playing time for Villarreal this season.

90+2 mins: The U.S. continues to defend heroically. The bus has been parked and Spain doesn't look like it can break down the U.S. defense.

FULLTIME. U.S.2-0 Spain. An unbelievable upset. I don't think Spain can have much complaints about that result. La Roja dominated possession but save for a couple of half-chances, didn't really create a clear-cut chance. As for the U.S., after Altidore's goal, it went into prevent D mode, but it worked and Dempsey snatched the killing blow.

Man of the match goes to frankly the entire U.S. team which defended like demons and made multiple heroic blocks -- but the center back tandem of DeMerit and Onyewu stood tall.

Is that the biggest win of all-time for the U.S.? Since it's not the World Cup it'd be hard to say that, but it's certainly the most impressive result in recent memory for U.S. Soccer. Fantastic heart shown today by the U.S. and if you're a U.S. soccer fan, tonight you need to party hard and call into work sick tomorrow.

That's all from me folks, Brazil (most likely) is next up on Sunday.

Lineups

The team lineups for the game have been announced as follows:

For the U.S.:

GK: Tim Howard

D: Jonathan Spector, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit, Carlos Bocanegra

M: Clint Dempsey, Ricardo Clark, Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan

F: Charlie Davies, Jozy Altidore

It's the same lineup that beat Egypt, except Howard is returning in goal instead of Brad Guzan, and Bocanegra is playing left back. Bob Bradley obviously decided that Jonathan Bornstein's defense on the flank has been a little shaky.

For Spain:

GK: Iker Casillas

D: Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Joan Capdevila

M: Cesc Fabregas, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Albert Riera

F: David Villa, Fernando Torres

There have been a lot of pregame comments from both teams leading up to this game. Spain, befitting its status as overwhelming favorite, has been brash, arrogant and some would even say downright overconfident.

"The U.S. has very good players," midfielder Riera said.

If that statement wasn't enough to fan the flames, midfield general Xavi certainly pulled no punches in providing more bulletin-board material.

"I think their [the U.S.] football has evolved. In the friendly, they did some things that complicated us. They've improved their level, especially offensively, they have some great players and it won't be an easy game," Xavi said.

It's simply a shame that the U.S. team gets no respect from the Spaniards.

"You have to respect the United States," midfielder Pablo Hernandez said.

On the other hand, the U.S. team, as befitting its status as David in a David versus Goliath scenario, has been modest, humble and eager to remain low-key.

"Maybe it's their time to lose," Davies said.

"I think we can match them physically, do some things with the ball in attack," said midfielder Sacha Kljestan from his vantage point on the U.S. bench.

Of course, as with all sporting events, talk is cheap -- we'll see what happens when the two teams meet on the field in what promises to be an absorbing contest. It's safe to say that if the U.S. can pull off the upset, it will shock the footballing world, and if any U.S. player is plotting or hoping for a big-money move to a top European side, today's the day to show his wares.

In other trivia before the match starts, I've been alerted by reader Jesse that these days, the bar at Craven Cottage is named "McBride's Sports Bar" in honor of Brian McBride.

How cool is that? As for McBride, the word is that he's recently indicated that he is open to returning to the U.S. national team if the coaches want him. This of course is a huge debate for another day, but off the top of my head, I'd say bringing him back into the fold would be a good move. After all, whom would you rather see coming on as a sub -- Conor Casey or McBride?

Pregame banter

To sum up the rather extraordinary events of Sunday's Confederations Cup action, I'm just going to start with the following e-mail I received from Adrian in Seattle:

Ms. Paris Hilton appointed ambassador to UNICEF. An unusually flustered Hilton composed herself in time to offer this stunner, "I just feel with all my heart that every animal deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, and that is why I have agreed to accept this appointment. Because I know I can bring great things to bear on these unfortunate pets." One correspondent was overheard saying, "You know, she might actually help."

After the U.S. team's epic 3-0 win against Egypt on Sunday, the Americans will face a powerhouse Spanish team on Wednesday (2:25 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN360.com) in a game which is simply a must-see for every self-respecting U.S. soccer fan in this country.

The two teams have, of course, met as recently as last summer, in a friendly which Spain won 1-0 in Santander. The circumstances will be different this time as both teams will be going full-speed and will have key players (Landon Donovan for the U.S.) available in this match that didn't play last time around. Moreover, Spain is in the process of rewriting the history books with a current 35-game record-tying unbeaten streak and a record-breaking 15-game win streak. Vincent Del Bosque's men will be keen to extend that against the U.S. and are clearly taking this tournament very seriously. Unlike other teams I won't mention, it's doubtful the Spaniards have spent the past few days before a game frolicking in their hotel with persons of dubious distinction. If its current form wasn't intimidating enough, Spain also has the advantage of an extra day's rest.

Should the U.S. pull off an upset win, you could certainly make a good case for it being the most impressive win (in the modern era) in U.S. national team history.

The big question is how to deal with the polished technical machine that is Spain and its clinical possession game. On the plus side for the U.S., Spain isn't quite at full strength in this tournament -- it's missing a ball-winner in midfield and in particular Marco Senna. It's also missing creative genius Andres Iniesta, comfortably one of the best five players in the world at present.

On the other hand, Spain is blessed with the best set of strikers in the world -- Fernando Torres and David Villa, neither of whom made an impression last time around against the U.S. (Villa didn't play and Torres was playing with a heavily sprained ankle and subbed at halftime), and fantastic midfield depth. The Spanish are also a hard team to prepare tactically for since Spain flits comfortably through various formations.

Even in this tournament alone, Spain has switched between a standard 4-4-2 with two wingers, a 4-4-2 with only one pure winger in Albert Riera (somewhat bizarrely preferred by Del Bosque to David Silva) and Cesc Fabregas in a free role and a 4-1-4-1 formation designed to control possession. If Spain does have a small weakness, it's in the gaps that its attacking fullbacks (Sergio Ramos and Joan Capdevila) leave behind and also the lack of a pure ball-winner in Senna's absence.

As for the U.S., does coach Bob Bradley stick with the 4-4-2 lineup and two-striker pairing of Charlie Davies and Jozy Altidore that worked wonders against Egypt (presumably bringing back Tim Howard in goal instead of Brad Guzan) or does he tinker with a three-man central midfield to try to stymie the Spanish possession game? There's a chance the U.S. could get overwhelmed in midfield if it plays with just two central midfielders, but if Bradley reverts back to a single striker lineup, he could lose out on the offensive thrust that was discovered against Egypt. What's his decision going to be? Who knows, but this is why Bradley gets paid to make the critical call.

Quote of the day

"There's always someone, this country's renowned for that. Someone will always criticize you, no matter what. If I let that affect me then I'd never be where I am today. Yes I'd prefer people to say nice things about me, it's not like I've murdered anyone. You've got to be thick-skinned I suppose."

To the surprise of all, that's not actually PR-savvy, fan-friendly U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley speaking, but England's Michael Owen, a player who's faced just a tiny bit more media scrutiny during his career than Bradley, speaking last week about what he thinks of criticism from media and fans.

That said, if being overly sensitive to fan and media criticism will drive the U.S. team to consistently play with the heart and hustle it showed against Egypt, U.S. fans will gladly persist unabated.

After all, it is in no way normal for most soccer nations to cast a deeply critical eye on their national team. Would the younger Bradley prefer a return to the Stone Age of soccer in the U.S., when everyone, including the media, was apathetic about what the U.S. did on the international stage?

I'll be back when the game starts with a play-by-play.

For those of you unable to watch the game live, you can catch a replay of it tonight at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN2.