USA vs. Algeria 2010 FIFA World Cup: USA Heads To the Knock-Out Round

I have caught the World Cup fever. I hear the constant kazoo of the vuvuzela horn in my ears. I pull my socks up to my knees. I have been prone to acting more than I remember as the fever is taking hold.

I was on the fence when the USA played England. One of the US players told David Beckham that the USA would win three to nil (soccer term). Three goals in a soccer game would be a bonanza.

Still, the history between the US and the country that birthed us, England, is rich and lustrous. It is fascinating to me that the rivalry is still alive in 2010 and that it was played out in South Africa.

I wonder how George Washington felt about soccer. Or it might have been just football back then.

The US gave up a quick goal to England and goalie Tim Howard was furious over a defensive lapse that allowed the Brits to steal a quick lead.

Lucky for the United States that England's goalkeeper, Robert Green, mishandled Clint Dempsey's 25-yard shot and the teams battled to a one to one tie. Over 90 minutes of soccer and two fluke goals to show for it.

That is why the game will never be big in America. We like offense and scoring and soccer is full of defense, momentum and a ton of missed chances.

So with a tie in their pocket, the US had two more games to go in their Group C pool play.

Another lackluster first half had them down two to nil against Slovenia. A two to nothing score in soccer is like being down by four touchdowns in football so things looked bleak for the US squad.

Landon Donovan nailed a nice goal to cut the lead down to one. Michael Bradley knocked in another shot to actually tie the game at two. Landon Donovan sent a free kick toward the goal in the last ten minutes of the game and Maurice Edu knocked it in to give the USA a late lead.

Or so it appeared.

A blown call by the referee negated the goal by the USA. We might not get soccer here in the States, but we are very knowledgeable when it comes to referees messing up crucial calls.

There was no penalty, which was called on Edu, and the USA was robbed of a three to two victory.

So instead of going into the final match with four points, the USA had two points and a must win game against Algeria.

If the USA tied and England won then the USA was out of the World Cup. It was simple for the USA, win and they are into the knock-out round of the World Cup.

It was far from simple when England had a one to nil lead over Slovenia and the USA was locked into a nil to nil tie with Algeria.

There was also another phantom call, this one off-sides, that took a goal off of the board for the USA.

Algeria could have made the knock-out round as well but they needed to win by a couple of goals. That is like when a player in the NBA needs to score a hundred and ten points in the final game of the season to win the scoring title.

The USA wore down Algeria as the Algerian team seemed content to force a tie and knock the USA out as well as themselves.

It looked like the Algerian team was going to be successful too as the game reached penalty time and the score was still nil to nil.

Tim Howard made a save and launched a pass down-field to Landon Donovan. Donovan raced down the pitch to get the ball ahead to one of his strikers and the shot on goal was blocked by the Algerian goalkeeper.

The goalkeeper did not secure the rebound though and Landon Donovan kicked the ball into the goal for a stunning one to nil win for the USA.

Bob Bradley made a ton of right moves as the US coach but still would have been scrutinized if the USA came out of South Africa with three draws.

The win also gave the USA their first group win since 1930. It also kept the United States interested in soccer for another few days.

It is a shame that we are so sports crazy here in the States that soccer has been continually lost in the shuffle. The athletes are amazing, the game is all about momentum and when there is a goal it is very exciting.

The lack of scoring will always keep it on the lower list of American sports. We can debate if that is right or wrong but it is the way it is. The MLS might think about getting rid of the goalkeeper for the American version of the game. Without a goalkeeper, there would be a lot more scoring.

Of course, when you start making changes to your game to please the fans then you start on the path toward demise.