Mexico - 0 USA - 2 The fan draped in the Stars and Stripes broke away from his post-match celebrations to turn and glare at the directors' box. "Take that, you European snobs," he bellowed at the bemused FIFA officials. "You wrote us off, but there's a new football order. We've arrived." As galling as it was to hear, and as bold a claim as it was, he may have a point.
The United States' fourth victory in the finals since they reached the last four in 1930, when only 13 teams entered, propelled them into a quarter-final against Germany in Ulsan on Friday. Rudi Voller's side may have beaten the US 4-2 in a friendly in Rostock during March, but they can take little for granted. Times are clearly changing.
"The world of soccer is shrinking," said the triumphant coach Bruce Arena. "It's a truly global game now. Federations all over the world are getting stronger and there's no longer an established football order. Sure, there'll always be the Englands, the Brazils, the Argentinas and the Italys at the top, but we can compete with any of them on any given day. We don't pretend to be at their level yet, but the gap has closed considerably. This is a great achievement for US soccer. Someone told me we were lucky, but look at the teams we have beaten so far. We are the only team to have held the Koreans, we just beat a team that topped a group including Italy, and we beat the semi-finalists from the European championships. Where's the luck in that? Nobody believes in our team except our team."
They certainly disposed of the Mexicans expertly enough, taking an early lead through Brian McBride - cracking Josh Wolff's lay-off across and beyond Oscar Perez from the edge of the area - and adding a breakaway second through the speedy Landon Donovan midway through the second half.
Mexico, CONCACAF's only previous quarter-finalists - when they hosted the tournaments in 1970 and 1986 - played all the pretty football but were well beaten, with their captain Rafael Marquez dismissed in his frustration at the death.
"It helps if a team takes you lightly," said the defender Eddie Pope who, alongside the outstanding Gregg Berhalter, inspired the States' first clean sheet at the finals since they beat England in 1950. "Portugal felt they would take an easy three points off us, too, and we shocked them. Teams never seem to learn."
Germany might, but at least now their own public might take them seriously. "We are aware that we are not a world power in the game," conceded the winger Eddie Lewis, who put a season languishing in Fulham's reserves behind him with a powerful display and set up Donovan's goal.
"That was the biggest result in our history. To get into the quarter-finals and knock out Mexico - that's just like England beating Germany - is huge and may make people take a second look. It may not benefit my generation of players, but we are taking things in the right direction."
Fulham fielded Lewis for the season-ending day's 3-0 loss at Blackburn, but that was his only Premiership appearance in the first team. "Apart from that the last game I played was at Woking for Fulham reserves, but it's the perception," he added.
"As an American you understand that in Europe you do not always get the benefit of the doubt. Some countries can't believe that we can be good enough to get this far. There's a lack of respect, but if we keep producing results then maybe that will change."
Substitutes
Mexico: Hernandez for Morales (28 mins), Mercado for Vidrio (46) Aspe for Torrado (78). USA: Lewis for Wollf (59), Jones for McBride (79), Llamosa for Mastroeni (90)
Yellow cards:
Mexico: Manuel Vidrio 36, Luis Hernandez 67, Cuauhtemoc Blanco 70, Alberto Garcia Aspe 81, Salvador Carmona 84. USA: Eddie Pope 26, Pablo Mastroeni 47, Josh Wolff 50, Gregg Berhalter 53, Brad Friedel 83.
Red card:
Mexico: Rafael Marquez 88.
