Davies provides a huge boost for the U.S. attack

RUSTENBURG, South Africa -- Under heavier fire than ever as coach of the U.S. national team, Bob Bradley stuck to his guns. That is, with one notable exception.

In Sunday's third and final group game of the 2009 Confederations Cup, with only the slimmest mathematical chance remaining to claim a ticket for the semifinals, the team Bradley put on the field managed a remarkable effort in a 3-0 win over African champion Egypt. The key performers were many of the same faces who had turned in subpar performances in the two opening matches against Italy and Brazil.

But the early spark plug in the American attack came in the unlikely form of Charlie Davies, who was seeing his first action of the tournament. The speedy striker teamed with Jozy Altidore up front to unsettle the Egyptian defense and wreak havoc in the attacking third.

"Charlie had a good start," Bradley said after the match. "Charlie is athletic and he brings energy to the game, and we thought that was a good way to go about things."

Davies made a number of crisp early runs, chasing long balls deep into the Egyptian third and creating dangerous opportunities with his pace. Bradley had used Altidore alone up top in the first match and gave Conor Casey a run in the second half against Brazil, but the U.S. had failed to generate many scoring opportunities.

"I was training really well," Davies said. "I think Coach saw that and said, 'Hey, we need some more attacking options, and let's give Charlie a shot.'"

U.S. men's schedule
U.S. vs. Spain Wednesday Mangaung/Bloemfontein, South Africa 2:25 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN360

After a start that included near misses for both sides, Davies put the U.S. on the board in the 21st minute. When Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary collided with a defender and mishandled an Altidore cross, the former Boston College forward pounced on the loose ball and managed to maneuver it into the back of the net from a tight angle.

"I was able to get in a good position," Davies said. "The defender hit his own keeper, and I was able to shield him from it and get a shot on goal, and it deflected and went in. I shot it on frame and hoped that it went in. I'm not sure how it went in, but it was a great feeling."

While Davies started in the attack and Brad Guzan replaced regular Tim Howard in goal, the rest of the American starting lineup resembled that used in the previous two losses.

Bradley said after the Brazil match that he would not heed calls for a major lineup overhaul and that he planned to put the team on the field that could work best collectively to create chances, a plan that worked well Sunday night as the Americans forayed into Egyptian territory time and time again, creating repeated chances.

"In terms of lineups, there are so many factors," the coach said. "This tournament comes so quickly at the end of players' seasons, and you look at how much some of them played for their club teams. When they come to this tournament, we need them here to grow, and we have them here because we feel that everybody can help the team."

Several of the regulars coming off long club seasons, including midfielders Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley, had not looked their usual selves in the games against Italy and Brazil. Nevertheless, both were included again from the outset against Egypt, and each rewarded their coach's confidence with a second-half goal that provided just enough to see the Americans through to the semifinal, on goal differential over Egypt and goals scored over Italy.

The younger Bradley scored off a Landon Donovan pass in the second half, and Dempsey headed home a Jonathan Spector cross to give the Americans the goal they needed to inch through to an encounter with world No. 1 Spain on Wednesday.

The younger Bradley said that despite all the criticism, the team believed in itself, and the results showed on the field in Rustenburg.

"Twenty-three guys on the team, and everybody has confidence in everybody," the emotional midfielder said after the match. "On any night, any guy can step in and do a job for the team."

The Americans won't have much time to celebrate their accomplishment. They now must make the long trip south to Bloemfontein to play Spain on Wednesday in the first Confederations Cup semifinal.

Brent Latham covers U.S. soccer for ESPNsoccernet. Based in Dakar, Senegal, he also covers West Africa for Voice of America radio and can be reached at brentlatham@ymail.com.