What you should know about U.S. win over Spain

When the U.S. men's national soccer team defeated Spain 2-0 Wednesday in the Confederations Cup semifinals, it upset the No. 1-ranked team in the world and ended a 35-game unbeaten streak.

Here are five things you should know about the win:

1. Where does this victory rank in U.S. history? It wasn't the World Cup, so automatically this win gets knocked down a couple of pegs, but it's surely in the top 10 of all time.

The granddaddy of all U.S. wins is the 1-0 victory over England in the 1950 World Cup. That result was so widely assumed to be wrong at first that papers in England reported it as an England win.

More recently, the Americans, led by Fire forward and Buffalo Grove grad Brian McBride, stunned Portugal 3-2 in the 2002 World Cup, then defeated Mexico 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals.

Also in the top five are a 2-1 win over Colombia in the 1994 World Cup, and a 1990 1-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in a qualifier to clinch the team's first berth in the World Cup since 1950. Let's put Wednesday's win in sixth place.

2. What does this win mean? For the team, it means more respect on the international scene and a huge confidence boost when it needed one.

For the U.S. Soccer Federation, it means a nice check for reaching the finals, reportedly $1 million. For the players, it could mean bigger contract offers this summer from more prestigious clubs in Europe.

3. How did the U.S. win? It won with a great game plan (to plug the middle of the Spanish attack, forcing it to the wings) that was well-executed by players who showed a lot of heart and guts in 37-degree weather for 90 minutes.

Clint Dempsey, who scored the second goal and assisted on the first, by 19-year-old Jozy Altidore, was named Man of the Match.

But the list of heroes is much longer. Tim Howard showed he can be one of the best keepers in the world. The back line - Arlington Heights native Jonathon Spector, Oguchi Onyewu, UIC graduate Jay DeMerit and former Fire defender Carlos Bocanegra - was outstanding, frustrating a great attacking team. Midfielder Landon Donovan seemed to be everywhere.

4. What is the Confederations Cup? It's an eight-team tournament in which each regional confederation around the world is represented. It's also a chance for host South Africa to work out the kinks before it also hosts the World Cup.

5. What's next? Fourteenth-ranked United States plays fifth-ranked Brazil at 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN) in the championship game in Johannesburg. The U.S. has only defeated Brazil once, a 1998 1-0 win that makes most U.S. top 10 lists. It lost to Brazil 3-0 in group play last week. The U.S. will be without midfielder Michael Bradley, suspended due to a questionable red card late in the semifinal.

The U.S. then returns home for the Gold Cup, a second-tier tourney from July 3-26, with the U.S. expected to reach the semifinals July 23 at Soldier Field. Only four players from the Confederations squad are on the Gold Cup team.

World Cup qualifying resumes Aug. 12 at Mexico. Midway through the final qualifying stage, the U.S. is in good shape, in second place out of six, with the top three earning automatic bids to South Africa in 2010.