DREAM TEAM: United States Soccer Team Advances on Late, Late Goal
23 Jun
It started off as classic American soccer… and not in a good way.
“Close, but not close enough.” That was the frustrating theme for the first 91 minutes of the United States final Group C match against Algeria. Numerous shot attempts bounced wide, knocked off the post, or barely remained in the reach of the Algerian defenders. And as if to make matters worse, another referee injustice occurred, taking away what appeared to be a clean first half goal by Clint Dempsey.
In a game that remained scoreless for its majority, The United States dominated in every way…. except on the scoreboard. And with England leading (and eventually defeating) Slovenia, a U.S. draw would mean the end of America’s 2010 World Cup.
Then, in the 92nd minute, just as the United States was about to become one of the few teams to ever fail to advance pass the group stage without being defeated, Landon Donovan struck in a rebound off the goalie to the left corner of the net, putting America ahead.
It is a legacy-saver for this American team, especially Donovan, who has the unenviable title of being the best soccer player America has ever produced. Donovan, more than any of the other American Soccer veterans, has been given the majority of the blame for the teams failings in the 2006 World Cup. Failure to advance would have cemented Donovan’s teams’ legacy as “close, but not close enough.”
Instead, America advances to the round of sixteen, as the winners of Group C. And if you don’t remember the last time the United States won their group, don’t feel too bad. It was in 1930.
They will face the runner-up of Group D. And no matter who their opponent is, the United States will likely not be favored to win by anyone outside of here.
Not that that matters, according to Landon.
“We embody what America is about,” Donovan said after the game. “(And) we’re not done yet.”
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