De La Torre saves the US

[Fulhamerica23]

De La Torre with a really nice bit of skill on a flick pass in the first half. Looks like he belongs with some Venezuelan lads that are playing top flight European football.

[hovewhite]

Hopefully we watch him in this form in the first team in the coming season!

[YankeeJim]

Venezuela was an impressive side against the US. The yanks, to include DeLa Torre were chasing shadows all match. They had a few good moments but it could easily have been 3 nil in regulation. Klinsman showed to be a good shot stopper, even if he didn't own the box. The woodwork came in handy twice and for the first 90 minutes Venezuela's strikers looked like Fulham last fall: lots of shots into row Z.

[Fulhamerica23]

Was really impressed with the Pena lad from Venezuela. Game changed when Venezuela took him off. USA got more into it.

[HatterDon]

If Carter-Palmer's open header had gone in at the whistle of regular time, the USA would have pulled off the least-earned victory in World Cup history.

Venezuela have a great side. They completely neutralized both our wingers and our central striker. Three shots against the woodwork, four or five saves by Klinsmann -- including one with his knee while he was looking in the other direction -- and a disallowed goal all sent the match to overtime. I didn't see the final stats, but with about 10 minutes to go, there had been 18 shots -- 17 of them by Venezuela.

The USA did what Americans do in this sport when they're over-matched: they worked harder and piled on the pressure. With about 5 minutes to go, Venezuela eased up to save it for overtime and they almost lost as a result. It would have been robbery, but I bet they don't let up against their next opponent.