When the United States lines up against Spain tomorrow in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup, American fans will be internally conflicted.

On the one hand, they'll want to believe that the Yanks have a shot against the Spanish, and that if the boys play well they just might squeak out an unlikely win. Victory, or even a full time tie that leads to extra soccer, is not expected; but it would be against their nature as fans not to have even a small belief that there's a chance.

The conflict arises from the realistic recognition that Spain is far and away the better team. More than likely, they will crush the American, remove their souls with crisp passing, intricate attacks, and superior skill, finishing the job as they've done so many times before. The Spaniards have not lost a match since 2006, and there is absolutely no reason to believe that an inconsistent American team will break that streak. The only questions that seem relevant are, how many will Spain score, because score they will, and will the Americans score, because that it's not a foregone conclusion that they will.

And so American fans will watch, in the middle of the day on a Wednesday and in numbers that would shock the anti-soccer crowd, hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

One-nil to the Americans, and the fans will lose their minds, become suddenly boisterous and exuberant, and lineup ready to crow about Yank chances at next year's World Cup. All of that criticism that Bob Bradley has taken, all of those calls for his head and for him to replaced immediately? Gone in a moment, as soon as the final whistle blows and the Americans have taken down the number one team in the world. It's a scenario we almost don't want to let ourselves conceive of, if only because it is so small a possibility. But it's out there, the idea that another miracle can happen, and fans would be fans, supporters wouldn't be supporters, if the notion didn't cross their mind.

Just imagine what it would mean.

Three-nil to the Spaniards, and life as a United States Men's National Team fan goes on as before. A loss to Spain would not only be predictable, it would be easily swept away, easily excused because there's really no reason to expect any other result. Losing to Spain isn't exactly the preferred outcome of Wednesday's match, but it will barely register on the disappointment radar. It would take a thumping of epic proportions, something on the order of four or five to nil to really get fans worked up; Bradley and his team essentially get a free pass, with Sunday's heroics still fresh.

"Just happy to be there" might be the wrong way to put it, but you can't really blame the Americans if that's the way they feel.

As for my prediction, I expect the Nats to play hard and give the Spanish a fight, but ultimately lose 2-0.

And we'll probably be happy with that.