FIFA World Cup 2010: A Happy-Sad Preview of USA vs. Algeria

For the US fan watching the Algeria game Wednesday morning:

YOU'LL BE HAPPY IF:
- THE US DOESN'T COLLAPSE EARLY. It's becoming almost cartoon-like in its' predictability. After conceding in the fourth minute against England, the black-comedy buzz around the establishment at which I was watching the Slovenia match was that they'd better not let the Charlie Browns score early. Oops. Algeria has shown the least amount of firepower in Group C, but that doesn't mean they're not capable of scoring and putting the US in (another) hole to start the game.
- GOOCH IS READY TO GO. Particularly with the first goal against Slovenia, defender Oguchi Onyewu looked off the pace of the game. Given the length of time he's been out of action with injury, some rustiness would be expected. But the US will need their star defender to be alert and ready to go from the opening whistle against the Desert Foxes.
- BRADLEY GETS THE MIDFIELD RIGHT. Coach Bob Bradley has been tinkering with the midfield, starting a defensive Ricardo Clark against England, a more creative Jose Torres against Slovenia, and subbing Maurice Edu for Torres when he needed a spark in the second half. Given that the US could advance even with a draw, and given his innate conservatism, I would be surprised if Clark doesn't get the nod, with Edu coming on if the US needs some attack.

YOU'LL BE SAD IF ...
- ENGLAND SCORE BEFORE THE US. The US has a two-goal advantage over England in their group standings, meaning if everything stays the same then the US would advance over England. Even if everything else remains the same, if England score early and get up on the Charlie Browns, there will be added pressure on the US to push forward and score.
- THE US THINKS THE SLOVENIA SECOND HALF MEANS THEY ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING. It was a phenomenal second-half performance against Slovenia the US put in, maybe the best I've ever seen from an American team. But if the US thinks, in any way, that performance did anything other than give them an opportunity, then they're set up to come out flat again, go behind again, and have to go to the well again for a miracle comeback. It was pretty tough to imagine the US fighting back once from a deficit - it's even more tough to imagine them doing it again.
- ALGERIA FIND THEIR MOJO. While they've been the worst of the four Group C teams so far, it's not like Algeria haven't had their moments. They had quite a bit of the run of play against Slovenia, and had their chances against England. If the Desert Foxes are able to get a toe-hold into the game, they could cause the US some real heartache.