The Morning After: Thoughts on USA’s Historic Victory over Algeria

Inhale. Exhale. Those are the words I found myself repeating after Landon Donovan scored the biggest goal in U.S. soccer history yesterday, as the USA knocked off Algeria to win Group C. Had the U.S. settled for a draw, watching the rest of 2010 World Cup would have been a task. It would have been too painful to see, knowing that this was our year to make some noise in this tournament. But for all the stress they put us through for the first 90 minutes, it was all worth it when the final whistle blew.

Let’s take a look back at this one:

– We’ll start from the beginning. When the game first started, the U.S. got a scare. An Algerian player sent one off the crossbar in the first few minutes of the game, and the game completely changed after that. You need some luck in this tournament. The U.S. got that here.

– From that point on, it was a game that was completely dominated by the USA. That’s why it would have been such a disappointment not to win this one. It was chance after chance after chance scoring-wise, but nothing would ever go into the net. Oh, expect for the shot by Clint Dempsey that was wiped out due to an offside call. Was it the right call? This is the U.S. team in the 2010 World Cup. Of course it wasn’t.

– Throughout the entire game, you just felt like the goal was coming. Jozy Altidore had the open netter that he kicked over the top of the goal. Michael Bradley had the rocket that he sent in off the free kick in the second half. Dempsey sent one off the right crossbar. Nothing would go in! But still, I felt like the goal was coming. But when things got to the 90th minute, I honestly had no hope anymore.

– And then it happened. Landon Donovan decided to stop time. He said it himself, it was like time stood still. In the 91st minute, the mood changed from depressing to utter joy. It’s a moment that we’ll see again and again, and it’s a moment that I’ll never forget. I had gave up all hope, and then all hope came flowing right back in after Donovan sent the goal into the net. The greatest goal in U.S. men’s soccer history. There’s no doubt about it. I can only hope that another goal knocks it off the top in this tournament.

– In assessing the performances of individual players, it’s hard to find anyone who played poorly. When Bob Bradley inserted Jonathan Bornstein into the starting lineup in place of Oguchi Onyewu, U.S. fans cringed. After all, Bornstein hasn’t exactly had his best of days lately. But this turned out to be perfectly fine. I thought Bornstein played well, and had some key challenges in this game. Jay DeMerit was awesome out there, as I think he had one of the best games that he’s ever had with the national team. Honestly, everyone stepped their game up, which is what you want to see in that type of situation, where it’s win or go home.

– The standout player of this game was easily Altidore. He created so many opportunities for this team, and give us the chances that we needed to score. Although we couldn’t get those chances in the net, they were there, and it helped give us plenty of shots on goal. He was all over the place, and just had an incredible game. He made things happen, which is what he does best. And he made his teammates better, which is what you love to see out of a player. Donovan was the hero in the end, but Altidore was definitely the man of the match.

– I think that Ian Darke said it best on the commentary for ESPN. “You could not write a script like this.” The game told a story. That’s the best way to put it. Some people refer to football/soccer as an art. It would be hard to argue that statement after the events of yesterday.

– It’s hard to even find the words to describe what this game meant to U.S. soccer fans. We were minutes away from once again being dismissed as a legitimate threat in this sport…..and then we won the group and had people predicting an appearance in the semi-finals. It’s a funny game. The entire landscape can change in a moment, and that’s what happened in this game. Donovan saved U.S. soccer with one simple shot.

We’ll discuss the Round of 16 game against Ghana tomorrow, but I know all of you have plenty of thoughts on yesterday’s game, so let your voice be heard in the comments section below!