The Americans had only a handful of seconds left to run out the clock and advance a step closer to the Olympics. With the pressure building with each tick, the victory slipped right through their hands. 
 
 El Salvador's Lester Blanco (17) celebrates with Andres Flores (20) after Blanco scored a goal against the United States in the first half of a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying soccer match on Monday, March... (Associated Press) 
 
 El Salvador's Lester Blanco (17) slides on the grass to his teammates after scoring a goal against the United States in the first half of a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying soccer match on Monday, March 26,... (Associated Press) 
 
 El Salvador's Richard Menjivar (16) chases down the ball with United State's Mix Diskerud (8) in the first half of a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying soccer match on Monday, March 26, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn.... (Associated Press) 
 
 El Salvador's Jaime Alas (10) falls as he chases the ball with United States' Freddy Adu (7) nd Kofi Sarkodie, right, in the first half of a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying soccer match on Monday, March 26,... (Associated Press) 
 
 The United States, known for producing top goalkeepers such as Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller and Tim Howard, found itself done in Monday night when substitute Sean Johnson couldn't handle a long shot from Jaime Alas of El Salvador in stoppage time. 
 
 The ball bounced off his hands, up over him and into the net, and El Salvador ousted the United States from Olympic qualifying with a 3-3 tie. 
 
 The stunned Americans missed the Olympics for the second time since 1976 and second time in three games. 
 
 "This is probably the worst feeling I've ever felt in my life so far as a pro athlete," U.S. captain Freddy Adu said. "This is going to be hard to get over. But at the end of the day things like this happen. For me, I never want to feel this way again, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to never feel this way again." 
 
 The Americans had to win to reach Saturday's semifinals in Kansas City, Kan., and they led 3-2 on Joe Corona's goal in the 68th minute. Officials added 4 minutes of stoppage time onto the game, and U.S. coach Caleb Porter said they were "seconds away" from closing out the win and taking the top spot in Group A. A television clock showed the ball going in 4 minutes, 14 seconds into stoppage time. 
 
 What happened is something U.S. midfielder Mix Diskerud said no one wants to experience in life, something he couldn't believe. 
 
 "The last 20 minutes after our third goal, all those minutes felt like very, very long hours. But I thought we were going to make it. Everybody thought we were going to make it.," Diskerud said. 
 
 "One shot." 
 
 Several Americans dropped to the field in exhaustion and disbelief after Alas' score, and Porter had to rally them back to their feet for one last gasp chance that didn't materialize. Porter said he hugged Johnson after the game. The 6-foot-4 keeper did not speak with reporters. 
 
 "He feels like he's let everybody down, let his teammates down, and I told him he didn't," Porter said. 
 
 El Salvador reached the semifinals, putting it a win away from its first Olympic berth since 1968. Canada, which tied Cuba 1-1 earlier, finished second. Lester Blanco and Andres Flores also scored for El Salvador, a team coach Mauricio Alfaro pointed out had less than two weeks to prepare for this tournament and didn't have the whole roster together until late. 
 
 "It was just incredible," Alfaro said of the win, speaking through an interpreter. 
 
 But Alfaro also said he had told his players to shoot more in the second half to try to pressure Johnson and the El Salvador coach said he did feel Johnson made a mistake on Alas' kick. 
 
 "The shot didn't have much power," Alfaro said. 
 
 Terrence Boyd scored twice for the U.S., and Johnson replaced keeper Bill Hamid in the 39th minute. 
 
 After a 2-0 loss to Canada in the second of this three-game, round-robin tournament, the Americans needed to win to advance. 
 
 So did El Salvador, and the crowd of 7,889 was about evenly split between the countries keeping the U.S. from a true home-field advantage at LP Field, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans. El Salvador survived a physical game with plenty of yellow cards on each side. 
 
 Boyd went to the sideline with blood on the front of his shirt late in the game. Diskerud said both he and Adu were bitten and showed reporters marks as proof. 
 
 "Part of the game, I guess," Diskerud said. 
 
 The U.S. had a little bit of time left to try and go ahead but couldn't get anything going before the game ended. The result leaves the Americans adding 2012 to 2004 and 1976 as years they failed to qualify for the Olympics, missing out on a 15th appearance overall. 
 
 Boyd got his first start in this round-robin tournament with Juan Agudelo recovering from surgery in New York to fix torn cartilage in his left knee, and Boyd gave the Americans the scoring boost they missed against Canada on Saturday night. The Americans attacked from the start, Boyd scored 61 seconds into the game. Brek Shea dribbled out of three defenders and sent a cross over to Boyd who scored off a left-footed volley. 
 
 And Boyd nearly scored twice more. His header went over the crossbar in the 10th minute, and he had a breakaway chance in the 11th only to see keeper Yimy Cuellar come out to break up the play. 
 
 Hamid rolled covering up a ball and appeared to hurt his ankle midway through the first half. 
 
 El Salvador took advantage by scoring two goals in two minutes to grab the lead and the momentum. Blanco scored on a header off a corner kick over Hamid's hands in the 35th minute, and Flores beat Hamid in the 37th minute off what had been a weak shot by Alas that turned into a cross. Porter pulled Hamid in the 39th minute, putting in 6-4 Johnson for his first appearance in the tournament. 
 
 Boyd tied it up with his second goal off a pass from Adu in the 65th minute. Corona, whose mother is a native of El Salvador, scored off a header just inside the left post off a pass from Adu. 
 
 Johnson smothered one strong kick from Isidro Gutierrez, but couldn't stop the ball when it mattered at the end. ||||| [+] Enlarge Frederick Breedon/Getty Images Brek Shea and the U.S. took a one-goal lead into stoppage time. But El Salvador equalized to end the match at 3-3, eliminating the Americans from Olympic qualifying. 
 
 Despite being a heavy favorite to emerge from the CONCACAF qualifying tournament with a ticket to the 2012 Olympics in London this summer in hand, the U.S. Under-23 national team was eliminated in a 3-3 tie to El Salvador Monday night. 
 
 Needing a win to advance from Group A after suffering a 2-0 upset to Canada on Saturday, the U.S. went ahead before a minute was up, surrendered its lead, went behind, equalized, went ahead again and allowed the game-tying goal in the very last minute of extra time. 
 
 A first-minute goal got the U.S. off to a flying start. Brek Shea broke through on the left and sent a cross into Terrence Boyd, who volleyed the ball into the net from close range. 
 
 But the Americans had trouble establishing their usual possession-dominating rhythm in the first half, discovering quickly that they were facing the strongest opponent in the tournament thus far. El Salvador competed for the ball and clogged the spaces well. This forced the U.S. to lump long balls to Shea and Boyd. And although Boyd did his best to be a handful in the box -- winning the ball in the 11th and putting himself through on goal before giving up possession -- this tactic was largely ineffective. 
 
 Crucially, keeper Bill Hamid tweaked his left ankle in the 31st minute. Within six minutes, El Salvador would twice punish his refusal to come off, or coach Caleb Porter's failure to substitute him. Undoubtedly, this will be picked apart in the coming weeks. In the 35th minute, Hamid failed to impose himself, or even move, on a corner to his near post. Lester Blanco rose over Kofi Sarkodi and headed in to equalize. In the 37th, Perry Kitchen and Jorge Villafana stood and watched as a low, straightforward cross into the box rolled toward the post, where Andres Flores beat the stumbling Hamid to the ball and slipped it underneath him and into the net. Shell-shocked and panicked, the U.S. barreled forward for the remainder of the half but produced little of consequence. 
 
 In the second half, El Salvador set about running down the clock, nibbling away the minutes with a series of time-wasting tactics. Mostly, El Salvador frustrated the U.S. by inviting the Americans into its own half before crashing the spaces and clearing the ball to send its opponent back to square one. Throughout the game, the U.S.'s midfield trio failed to secure enough of the ball to settle into a rhythm and provide service to the forwards. All the U.S. could muster, then, for 20 minutes, was a dangerous shot by Freddy Adu. 
 
 In the 64th minute, a flagging El Salvadoran defense slipped up. Boyd brought down a long punt from Sean Johnson (who had replaced the injured Hamid), whereupon Adu slipped Boyd a ball through the back line. Boyd finished cleanly, making it 2-2. Four minutes later, Joe Corona, anonymous throughout the game, found himself on the end of a rare dangerous cross from Adu at the second post and was allowed to head in the liberating goal. With the deficit overturned, the U.S. was seemingly on its way to the decisive semifinal game. 
 
 It had now fallen to the U.S. to ride out the game. But it fell into the same trap as El Salvador had. The Americans allowed themselves to be put under pressure and cede the initiative to their irked opponents, who grew increasingly aggressive. The Yanks appeared to be getting away with it, too. But in the fourth and final minute of extra time, Amobi Okugo lost track of playmaker Jaime Alas, who ran through the center of the U.S.'s defense and hit a bouncing shot that skipped awkwardly. Johnson punched the ball skyward, only to see it skip into the U.S. goal. 
 
 The U.S. had been unable to stamp its authority on a second consecutive game, allowing El Salvador entry points into the game time and again by failing to maintain possession. Brimming with talent, this U.S. team's failure to qualify for the Summer Games will be remembered as both a stain on a federation that failed to send a U-20 team to the 2011 World Cup and a blight on the resume of coaching prodigy Porter. 
 
 But given its performances, it's hard to argue that the U.S. deserved much better. Here are our player grades (10=best) 
 
 GK -- Bill Hamid, 3: Was convincing in the early going but should have indicated that he was in no condition to proceed after taking a knock in the 30th minute. El Salvador's first two goals could have been avoided by prompter interventions from Hamid (or the coach) before he came off in the 39th minute. 
 
 D -- Kofi Sarkodie, 4.5: Simply beaten in the air on the 1-1, Sarkodie was once again better going forward than he was defensively. 
 
 D -- Ike Opara, 4: Looked sharper than he had against Canada, but he failed to step out on Alas on the dooming 3-3. 
 
 D -- Perry Kitchen, 4: Kitchen was steady enough throughout the game, but he should have been more alert as the eventual 2-1 rolled past him. 
 
 D -- Jorge Villafana, 4.5: Impressive early on, Villafana just let Flores run by him undisturbed to make it 2-1. 
 
 M -- Amobi Okugo, 5.5: A seventh-minute yellow card took the sting out of his game but he nevertheless had a strong night plugging holes and shielding the defense. And then he let Alas run away from him to score the 3-3. 
 
 M -- Mix Diskerud, 5: Not a banner night for him, but not his worst either. He tried his best to distribute but was sometimes sloppy and didn't find enough of the ball to go around. 
 
 M -- Joe Corona, 4.5: Scored the goal that should have sent the U.S. through but was otherwise invisible. Like he had against Canada, Corona appeared completely lost. 
 
 F -- Freddy Adu, 7: Played out on the right again, a position where he never looked comfortable, Adu was most effective on set pieces and when he drifted inside. His two assists were incisive, however, and should have made the difference. 
 
 F -- Terrence Boyd, 7: Active and mobile, Boyd replaced Agudelo capably by providing a good target and getting teammates involved. He converted two of four big chances and should have been the hero of the night. 
 
 F -- Brek Shea, 6: Did good work disturbing the back line and picked up an assist. But his crossing often let him down. 
 
 Subs: 
 
 GK -- Sean Johnson, 4.5: Confidently stepped in for Hamid in the 39th minute and made a handful of crucial saves. But that bouncing shot that sent the U.S. crashing out may haunt him for years, as he probably should have dealt with it. 
 
 M -- Michael Stephens, Incomplete: An 88th minute substitute for Corona, Stephens had little impact. 
 
 F -- Joe Gyau, Incomplete: A 93rd minute time-wasting substitution. 
 
 Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at leander.espn@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderESPN. ||||| Millions of soccer fans around the world have been waiting four years for the 2014 World Cup, which begins on Thursday. 
 
 if you don't know a ton about the sport, this is for you 
 
 Millions of American sports fans, however — who have been spending that time watching (American) football, basketball, and baseball — will tune in and be a little confused. 
 
 Soccer's definitely becoming more popular in the US, but it's still not quite mainstream. Though there are lots of hardcore American soccer fans, there are many more that will watch the World Cup this summer but don't know a ton about the sport and might be unaware of some of the Beautiful Game's finer points. 
 
 If you fall into this latter group, this piece is for you. Here's what you need to know to fake it as a legit soccer fan for the 2014 World Cup. 
 
 1. The World Cup is the pinnacle of soccer 
 
 The world's top soccer players spend most of their time playing for privately-owned teams that represent cities in country-specific leagues — like Manchester United or Real Madrid — in a system that roughly parallels American pro sports. 
 
 It's as if Olympic hockey mattered more than the stanley cup 
 
 But elite players also spend some of their time playing for their home countries' national teams as part of the World Cup, organized by FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association). Unlike American sports, these matches are considered the pinnacle of the sport — not in terms of quality of play, but in terms of the importance assigned to it. 
 
 FIFA claims half of humanity tuned into one match or another during the last World Cup. It's as if Olympic hockey mattered more than the Stanley Cup, or the World Baseball Classic was more important than the (poorly named) World Series. 
 
 We're about to start the World Cup finals, which take place every four years. 32 national teams compete in a tournament held in one country over the course of about a month, with billions of people watching worldwide. The last one, in 2010, was held in South Africa, and Spain won. 
 
 But in between each of these tournaments, there are hundreds of qualifying matches that winnow the field down from 209 national teams to the 32 that make the final tournament. 
 
 Last December, the 32 teams that made it into this years' finals were arranged into eight groups of four that are supposedly of even quality, based on a combination of rankings, geography, and random chance. 
 
 2. The World Cup finals are a multi-stage tournament 
 
 The month-long tournament is divided into two stages. First, as part of the group stage, each team played the three other countries in its group. 
 
 in the group stage, each team plays the other three in its group 
 
 For example, the US was in Group G, with Ghana, Portugal, and Germany. They played each of these teams once (on June 16, 22, and 26, respectively), and the three other teams played each other once as well. 
 
 In this stage, a win counts for three points, a draw counts for one point, and a loss is zero points. When all these matches finished on June 26, the two teams with the most points from each group advanced. In Group G, that was Germany and the US. 
 
 On June 28, the winning 16 teams entered a single-elimination tournament, called the knockout stage. It works pretty much like the NCAA tournament — 16 teams get cut down to 8, then 4, then 2 teams as each round progresses. 
 
 In this phase, there are no draws: tie matches are followed by 30 minutes of extra time (divided into two 15-minute halves). This extra time isn't sudden death — it continues for the full 30 minutes, even if either team scores. Afterward, if both teams are still tied, they enter a penalty kick shootout, in which each time takes five shots and the team with the most goals wins. 
 
 3. The US team was in the "group of death" — but made it out 
 
 Every World Cup, there are unusually strong groups stocked with solid teams, nicknamed the "groups of death." Coming into the tournament this year, many felt Group G — which featured the US, Germany, Portugal, and Ghana — was it. 
 
 But the US team's dramatic victory in game 1 against Ghana, paired with a draw against Portugal, gave them just enough points to make it out of Group G, and make it into the knockout stage for the second straight World Cup. 
 
 Unlike in many other team sports, the US team has never been a world soccer power, and only has a single knockout round win since 1930. They weren't able to change that this year, with a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to a tough Belgium team in the first round of knockout play this year. 
 
 4. Germany defeated Argentina in the championship 
 
 Four of the world's best teams made it to the quarterfinals. But Brazil, the favorite team coming in to the tournament, suffered a shocking 7-1 loss to Germany, allowing the most goals ever in a World Cup semi-final. 
 
 In the championship, Germany played Argentina — a team that features forward Lionel Messi, one of the world's top goal scorers — and defeated the Netherlands in penalty kicks during the semi-finals. Germany won, 1-0. 
 
 5. Soccer is a complex game 
 
 To a casual viewer, soccer might seem pretty straightforward: you have two teams of eleven players on a field (called a pitch), both trying to put a spherical ball into the other team's goal. They can use any part of their body besides their arms or hands to do so, except the goalie (called a keeper), who can use his hands as long as he's within a box in front of his own net. 
 
 The nuances of the game, though, are more complicated than you might expect. Among the important rules to know: 
 
 An offensive player is offside if he is in the attacking half of the field, doesn't have the ball, and goes behind the second-farthest back defender (including the keeper). If this player gets involved in the play — say, by being passed the ball — it's a violation, and the other teams gets a free kick . This complex rule is intended to prevent offensive players from just sitting by the net, waiting for the ball. 
 
 if he is in the attacking half of the field, doesn't have the ball, and goes behind the second-farthest back defender (including the keeper). If this player gets involved in the play — say, by being passed the ball — it's a violation, and the other teams gets a . This complex rule is intended to prevent offensive players from just sitting by the net, waiting for the ball. A yellow card is shown to a player after he commits a misconduct, a type of foul. If he commits a second misconduct, a red card is shown, and he's ejected — forcing his team to play one man down for the rest of the match. 
 
 is shown to a player after he commits a misconduct, a type of foul. If he commits a second misconduct, a is shown, and he's ejected — forcing his team to play one man down for the rest of the match. A throw-in occurs when the ball is kicked out of bounds along one of the side lines. When it goes out the end line, a goal kick occurs if it was last touched by an offensive player, and a corner kick occurs if it was last touched by a defensive player or the keeper. 
 
 occurs when the ball is kicked out of bounds along one of the side lines. When it goes out the end line, a occurs if it was last touched by an offensive player, and a occurs if it was last touched by a defensive player or the keeper. The match lasts 90 minutes (with two 45-minute halves), and the clock never stops. Not for goals, injuries, or any time-outs. Instead, referees add stoppage time to the end of the match to cover the time used up on substitutions and goal celebrations. 
 
 to the end of the match to cover the time used up on substitutions and goal celebrations. Each team is allowed three substitutions over the course of a match. For the World Cup, rosters are limited to 23 players: 11 starters and 12 subs. 
 
 A team is made up of ten defenders, midfielders, and forwards — with varying numbers of each for strategic reasons — plus one keeper. Different coaches use all sorts of different numbers and formations of the first three: currently, the 4-2-3-1 formation (four defenders, two defensive midfielders, three attacking midfielders, and a forward) is especially popular. 
 
 But apart from their formations, teams have radically different strategies and styles. Germany has long been known for organization and efficiency, Spain makes many short, high-percentage passes, Argentina has an explosive offense led by Lionel Messi, and Brazil uses speed to press aggressively. Like any sport, the strategy of soccer goes very deep. 
 
 6. There are millions of dollars at stake 
 
 To an American, this whole tournament seems pretty Olympic-esque. So it might come as a surprise that there are actually payouts given to winning teams: FIFA gives out a total of $576 million, with $35 million going to the champions, $25 million to the runners up, and various amounts to every other team down to $8 million for those eliminated in the group stage. 
 
 fifa is projected to take in $4 billion 
 
 Like the Olympics, though, the organizing group rakes in most of the money. Though FIFA is spending an estimated $2 billion on the event, they're projected to take in a record $4 billion from ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, and other revenue streams. 
 
 These profits are related to the culture of corruption within FIFA, which has been getting attention from everyone from the New York Times to John Oliver in recent days. Part of the problem is the secret vote used to award World Cup sites, which allegedly led to Qatari officials paying multimillion-dollar bribes to FIFA in exchange for the 2022 World Cup. That scandal doesn't directly involve this year's World Cup, but it's added to the aura of corruption surrounding FIFA and casts a shadow over the event. 
 
 7. Many Brazilians are protesting the World Cup 
 
 Brazil absolutely loves soccer. But the Brazilian government has spent an estimated $14 billion preparing for the tournament, building seven gleaming new or fully refurbished stadiums around the country, and upgrading airports, roads, and light rail systems. It is paying $900 million for security forces alone. 
 
 given that nearly 16 percent of the country lives below the poverty line, many brazilians are protesting the $14 billion spent on the world cup 
 
 At the same time, nearly 16 percent of the country lives below the poverty line, basic infrastructure like sewer lines and sidewalks aren't available to many people, and economic growth has slowed in recent years. That's why many Brazilians are questioning these investments — especially given FIFA's projected profits from the event. In a recent poll, 61 percent of Brazilians said hosting the event was bad for the country's economy. 
 
 Additionally, nine construction workers died during the course of building the stadiums, and about 250,000 people have been displaced from urban favelas during the lead-up to the event. Making matters worse is the fact that Rio de Janeiro is also hosting the 2016 Olympics, which will involve further construction of lavish facilities for elites and foreign athletes. 
 
 Consequently, protests, strikes, and riots have erupted in many corners of Brazil as the event draws near. Most recently, a subway strike in São Paulo has disrupted transportation in the mega city and threatened instability with matches just a few days away. 
 
 8. The matches are spread thousands of miles apart 
 
 You might imagine the World Cup to be a geographically compact event, like the Olympics. But the 12 stadiums are spread widely across Brazil, a country nearly as large as the US. 
 
 As a result, the tournament will entail long-distance travel for the teams. From the US team's first match, in Natal, they'll fly about 1,700 miles to Manaus, for their second match. 
 
 This is the second World Cup to be hosted in Brazil, and the stadiums are spread more evenly than in 1950, with more northern and inland sites involved. 
 
 In between matches, teams will stay at self-selected base camps. The vast majority are staying at either Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, with the US at the latter. 
 
 9. Many teams ban their players from having sex during the World Cup 
 
 Among the stranger things to know about the event: some coaches restrict their players' sex lives during the month of play due to the belief that excessive sex will impede their performance on the field. 
 
 Players on Spain, Germany, Chile's teams aren't allowed to have sex at all, while Brazil's players are permitted to have "normal sex" as long as it's not "acrobatic," and France's are also allowed to have sex as long as it doesn't last all night. 
 
 Update: all of the teams that explicitly banned all sex have been eliminated. So have the majority of the teams that entered the tournament, though, so this doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot. 
 
 10. You can watch on the matches on ESPN and Univision 
 
 In the US, the 64 matches will be split between ESPN (43 matches), ESPN2 (10 matches) and its parent network ABC (10 matches). ESPN will also make every game available through its WatchESPN website and apps, but you need to be a subscriber to one of 14 cable companies access them. You can find the full listings here. 
 
 However, if you don't pay for cable but still want to watch, the matches will also be broadcast in Spanish on Univision and streamed online. Quartz has a nice list of other options for figuring out how to watch for free online. 
 
 Further reading: 
 
 Update: this article was edited to more fully define an offside violation, to include information about Univision and other streaming options, and to reflect results during the ongoing tournament.
– The US won't be competing in men's soccer at the Olympics, thanks to a heartbreaking goal that came literally at the last minute. El Salvador battled the US to a 3-3 draw last night, the AP reports; the US, which had been heavily favored to win its group in CONCACAF qualifying, needed a win after being upset by Canada 2-0. It was a back-and-forth affair, with the US scoring in the first minute, then falling behind, and finally coming back to lead 3-2. But in stoppage time El Salvador's Jaime Alas bounced a ball off the hands of substitute keeper Sean Johnson and into the net. Starting keeper Bill Hamid had been injured in the 31st minute, but, in a move ESPN suspects will be much-criticized, he wasn't pulled out immediately. El Salvador scored two goals against him in six minutes.“This is probably the worst feeling I've ever felt in my life,” says captain Freddy Adu. “This is going to be hard to get over.”