Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The U.S. Advance Thanks To Landon Donovan

By Alfred Higgins


It was June 23rd, 2010 in South Africa and the U.S. soccer team faced Algeria. It was late into the game and American fans were starting to lose hope as it seemed like it wasn't going to happen for them. Passionate soccer fans were heartbroken, considering the boys got robbed with a few calls and could have made it through with a few decisions made in their favor. Just when everyone was down, Landon Donovan comes to the rescue!

The U.S. needed a win against Algeria and they got it. If there's ever a way to describe what a nail biter is, this game was exactly that. One shot banged off the right post, an open net opportunity was missed, a chance to head the ball home and a goal was even overturned. The call that was overturned was extremely questionable, but we've dealt with this before (against Slovenia!).

While the U.S. was playing Algeria, the England vs. Slovenia match was also being played. As England took a lead in the first half, U.S. was forced to win if they wanted to advance. England never really looked threatened by Slovenia, so as an American fan, we were in trouble.

It took 12 seconds to put the game winner together. They moved the ball from one end of the field to the other and left the U.S. fans with something to talk about. This game winner was probably the biggest goal and most dramatic game winners in the 94 years that the U.S. Men's National Team has been playing.

It was the U.S. soccer legend, Landon Donovan. If anyone could have predicted who would score the game winner, all fingers would have been pointing his way. Landon goes down as possibly the greatest U.S. soccer player of all time. If you're not sure about this, then check out the U.S.A.'s two biggest goals this World Cup.

When Landon scored this goal, it wasn't only a game winner. It didn't only mean we move on to the next round. It also meant that for the first in the modern era, that the U.S. soccer team completes the group stage in first place. Finishing ahead of England is something to brag about! But now it means a single elimination match vs. Ghana, who caused problems for us in 2006.

This team has more fight in them than other team I've seen in the World Cup so far. Hopefully they can bring the same level of intensity to Ghana. The winner of this match plays the winner of South Korea vs. Uruguay. And the winner of that advanced to the Semi-finals. We couldn't ask for a better draw at this point!

If the U.S. brings their best game to Ghana, they should do just fine. With a win, soccer may just grow a bit more in the U.S. They've made it extremely exciting and I'm sure they'll continue to give us something to talk about vs. Ghana.




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