Spain 0 - USA 2

That was all in a breathless opening 12 minutes, and both sides continued to push forward before The US took a shock lead through Altidore in the 26th minute. Dempsey played the ball into his strike-partner on the edge of the box and the 19-year-old was allowed to turn Villarreal team- mate Joan Capdevila far too easily before firing in a shot that Casillas got his hand to but could not keep out.

That was the first goal Spain had conceded in their Confederations Cup campaign and only the third since Vicente del Bosque took over last summer, with this being the 14th match under the former Real Madrid boss.

The Spanish were under real pressure and, after David Villa had blazed a half-chance over the bar, the US had a great chance to make it 2-0.

Two US players were unmarked at the far post as they raced in to meet Landon Donovan’s free-kick, but while captain Carlos Bocanegra was probably the better placed, Dempsey stretched to get his head to the ball and could not get it on target.

Despite that wasted opportunity, the US still held onto their 1-0 lead until the break, with Tim Howard sticking out a foot to deny Torres at his near post just before the interval.

With their proud record in danger, Spain came out at the start of the second half with all guns blazing.

Just two minutes after the re-start Howard produced a superb save to tip away Villa’s effort, before Xabi Alonso fired a rising shot just over the crossbar.

It was all one-way traffic and Villa and Albert Riera both tried their luck, while Xavi had a good shout for a penalty following a challenge by Donovan inside the area.

The shots continued to rain in on Howard’s goal, with the Everton custodian doing well to keep out efforts from Fabregas and Sergio Ramos in quick succession.

Spain pressed for an equaliser but could not find the breakthrough though, and their hopes were crushed when the US netted their second goal in the 74th minute as Ramos failed to clear Donovan’s low cross and Dempsey prodded past Casillas to inflict a first loss on the world’s number one ranked side since they went down 1-0 at home to Romania in a friendly in November 2006.