What a Match

I almost don't know what to say about today's games. I really don't. The United States game was one of the most exciting games I have ever seen and I was so happy afterward that I smiled every time I thought about that goal going in. It feels more emotional than logical at this point and I'm not sure how well I can describe it. The later games were interesting as well but then they seem to pale in comparison to the US match. I don't know what to say, but I will try at the very least.

Similar to last Friday, I took the morning off from work so I could watch the US match and then go in for the afternoon. I couldn't bear to stay in the dark about such an important result for the entire day and lose out on half the fun of such an experience, which is sharing it with others both during and after. In hindsight, I would have been furious with myself if I hadn't been able to watch this live so it was worth losing the money. Once at work, I was able to avoid talk of the Group D games despite a couple of people wanting to start "guess who the US plays on Saturday" conversations. All-in-all a very productive day. Well, a productive day for soccer. Let's get to the games.


Algeria vs United States

I debated not taking notes for this game since it was a US game and one of those games that you don't want to work at watching, you just want to watch. But I was watching the game in my apartment with my notepad and time to make a real record of it, so I did. My very first reaction to this game was actually horror. Horror, because I looked at the starting line-up and Jonathan Bornstein was starting at left back. Good god this scared me. Bornstein probably shouldn't have made the 23 man roster, let alone be starting a win-and-in game for the US. I felt somewhat better about seeing Maurice Edu in at midfield instead of Ricardo Clark and if the US is going to stick with a 4-4-2, I think Edu is the best partner for Michael Bradley in the middle. I personally like Jose Torres better, but Torres is a creative, offensive-minded midfielder who needs a holding middie to work with rather than someone who will roam like Bradley. When Torres plays with Bradley, he has to cover too much and it just doesn't seem to work. If the US were to switch to a 4-5-1 to utilize their depth in midfield then Torres would have a perfect spot, but I think that is a discussion for another time. One last pregame reaction: I have no problem seeing Hercules Gomez playing up front with Jozy Altidore, but I think I would have rather seen Edson Buddle starting. No disrespect at all to Gomez, I just think that he's better served coming off the bench because his pace and energy is such a spark. Buddle is solid when coming off the bench, but he doesn't seem to bring that injection that Gomez does.

The game started with Algeria getting the first couple of chances and making me generally nervous as hell. Karim Matmour lined up a volley off of a header in the very first minute but it only started to dip down after it cleared the crossbar. Then in the 6th, Rafik Djebbour took advantage of Jay DeMerit misplaying a high ball up to the front and chested the ball to himself and hit a side volley before the ball could touch the ground. The volley cleared goal keeper Tim Howard but only dipped enough to ring off the crossbar rather than settle into the back of the net. The US defense looked all out of sorts for the first ten to fifteen minutes and they should probably consider themselves lucky that they did not concede a goal, especially off of Djebbour's chance.

Though I preferred Buddle as a starter, Gomez played exceptionally well and really spearheaded the American attack early on. In the 7th, he possessed the ball on the right hand side and instead of crossing in the ball as expected, he tried an outside of the foot shot that swerved towards the near post. The keeper was surprised, but not surprised enough to be beaten and he was able to turn away the shot. Then in the 20th, Gomez got the ball on the right hand side of the box and put a quick shot in on keeper Rais M'Bolhi which the keeper did well to get a hand to. Gomez pulled in the rebound though and fed the ball across the goal mouth to Clint Dempsey who touched it in for a goal. A goal that was quickly disallowed by a questionable offsides call. To the side judge's credit, I only remember ESPN showing one angle of the offsides, a diagonal angle that made it difficult to tell exactly where Dempsey is, so perhaps it was justified. Regardless, it was a stomach punch of a call, especially considering the call that cost the US a victory over Slovenia just last week. Apparently that punch was part of a one-two combination as it was announced in the 23rd that Jermaine Defoe had scored for England, putting them up 1-0. Coming into this game, the US knew that if they won they were in. However, they could still make it through with a draw if England also drew and didn't score three more goals than the US on the day. England being up 1-0 meant that the US could not hope for a draw and move on, at least not unless Slovenia came from behind to tie.

The US started to control the game after having the goal disallowed and had the majority of the chances throughout the rest of play. In the 35th, Landon Donovan held the ball at the top of 18 waiting for an open man and when Dempsey made a run through, he fed it to him. Unfortunately Dempsey's first touch brought him too close to the keeper and while he still put a shot on goal, he wasn't able to elevate it or pick a side as the keeper already had closed the angle down. Then in the 37th, Donovan got free on the right side of the box and put a shot that the rapidly advancing keeper got a touch to. Donovan and Altidore both had a chance at the rebound and swung at it at the same time, possibly touching each other in doing so. It was Altidore who took the blame as he skied the ball over goal. The US ended the first half with another chance from Dempsey that he hit while falling to his left, but couldn't trouble the keeper to make more than a leaning save. The US dominated play in the first half after a shaky beginning but just couldn't seem to find the back of the net. I was angry because of the goal being disallowed, frustrated because of the lack of scoring despite chances, and nervous as hell because I knew the US needed to win this game.

The second half took some time getting going and the US didn't get their first quality chance until the 57th minute when Altidore made a run up the left side and put a ball into the middle at the top of the 18. An awkward touch by the defender left the ball sitting there and Dempsey ran onto it and curled a shot that struck the right post after catching the keeper flat footed. This was absolutely heartbreaking. To have a goal disallowed and then see your team catch woodwork on an open goal... it was brutal. Time matched on and in the 65th minute, substitute Benny Feilhaber made a beautiful run in from the right directly at the right post. He was looking for Altidore at the back post when he put the cross in but he didn't elevate it quite enough as it just barely clipped the keeper's back leg and went out for a corner. Great creative play from Feilhaber but it was just torture watching these chances go by as time ticked off the clock. Coming in as a substitute, Buddle almost put the US up in the 68th when he headed a Steve Cherundolo cross on goal but it was right at M'Bolhi and the keeper was able to cover it. Then in the 79th, Bradley took a straight shot off of a free kick played indirectly but his screamer was again right at the keeper and he was up to the task.

Agony. Absolute mental agony is the only way I can describe these last fifteen or so minutes. The chances were coming, but nothing was going in. It seemed similar to Spain's loss to Switzerland when they had all the chances in the world, even striking the crossbar, but couldn't get that goal to get a result. The US needed one goal to move through too the elimination rounds but it just wasn't happening. Everything was lacking the final finish or bouncing unluckily or just plain not working and it was terrible. Then, it happened. Finally. All of the waiting and all of the hope were rewarded in the 91st minute. Algeria was able to threaten the US defense and put a header on goal, but Howard held it easily. Before you knew it, he had thrown an absolute strike up as far as half field that Donovan ran onto and progressed forward. Donovan held on the dribble and then played the ball wide right to Altidore who put a cross into the box that Dempsey touched on goal. The keeper stopped the shot and it was heartbreak and agony all over again for a second. But there was a rebound. There was a rebound just sitting there and Donovan, who had been invisible for large portions of the game and just didn't seem to have had much of an impact, was the man on the spot and calmly tucked the ball into the left corner of the net. I'll be honest, I barely remember the next minute or so. I was out of my chair in a flash, screaming, fist pumping, everything I could think of that would make me look like an absolute ass to an uninformed observer, but I didn't care. I was incredibly happy, the happiest I think I've been to watch a US soccer game. Obviously the US held on for the last three minutes and won their group to go on to the elimination stages. What an amazing game. I have never been as excited for a goal as I was then. All of the frustration, all of the anxiety, they just melted away and the US victory was all that was left. I'm still smiling right now, thinking and writing about this goal. I of course want more from the US team going forward. Hell, I want them to win the whole thing. But if they are stopped short, I will still have this and I will love it.

United States 1 -0 Algeria


Ghana vs Germany

I chose to watch this game out of the Group D games because they were easily the two most entertaining teams in the group and this match was most likely to see who would win the group. Germany would almost certainly win the group with a win while Ghana definitely would win outright with a victory and would go through with a draw as well. Both teams had very good reasons to push for goals and the win, so the first half and some of the second half showed that as we were treated to a very entertaining match. Early in the match, Germany held more possession and got reasonable if not outstanding chances, such as Cacau's chance in the 3rd minute that was held easily by Ghanaian keeper Richard Kingson. They also had a chance in the 10th when Lukas Podolski passed the ball across goal, taking a deflection off of a defender and almost ending up in the back of the net. Their best chance of the first was when Mesut Ozil was played in on the keeper leaving him all alone. Ozil got a little too close to the keeper though and Kingson was able to come out and take away options from Ozil, making the save as the shot was put towards the back post. Around this point, Ghana started taking possession back from Germany and were able to get good chances as well as hold the ball for longer, bringing the game almost dead even in terms of which team looked better and more dangerous. Ghana's fatal flaw in this game however was finishing. They always seemed to be one pass away from springing a player for a goal, or one better decision away from the ball ending up in the back of the net. Germany's defenders did well also and kept disrupting the ball when it was at the feet of Ghanaian players, helping to end the half still tied 0-0.

The match got back on track in the second half and both sides looked incredibly dangerous. The breakthrough came in the 60th minute when Ozil took a pass from Thomas Muller at the top of the 18, set up his left foot, and absolutely rocketed the bouncing ball into the left side of goal, tailing away from Kingson. Fantastic individual effort for Ozil and also yet another lesson on why you close out strikers from distance and don't just let them shoot. With the goal here, one would think that the game would become wide open as Ghana pressed forward in search of the tying goal. And Ghana did for a while and looked most dangerous on Andre Ayew's effort off of a Asamoah Gyan backheel in the box. But by the 73rd minute, Australia was up 2-0 on Serbia, a result that would send both Germany and Ghana through, so Ghana didn't need to press. In fact, it was against their best interest to get caught out of shape because if they were scored upon, that would help Australia in their attempt to catch up to Ghana on goal differential. Because of this, the game slowed down to a crawl and it's really not worth talking about. Germany held on for the win and gets to play England this coming Sunday. The real story (for people like me at least) is that Ghana will face the US Saturday at 2:30 and I absolutely cannot wait.

Germany 1 - 0 Ghana


What a fantastic game for the US and a great, great day for soccer. I was giddy all day, I couldn't help it. So happy for the US going through and I still am. Tomorrow won't live up to today simply because the US isn't playing and winning, but it should still be yet another great day of elimination soccer. Hope you all are enjoying this just as much as I am and hope to see you back tomorrow.