Rapid Reaction - US Men's Soccer

I got the feeling the entire game that the US was going to break through at some point. They were the better team, thoroughly outplayed Algeria, and deserved to advance. Yet, I remained on the edge of my seat waiting for that moment to come. And when it came, it was the big names for the United States, which is a very encouraging sign. Tim Howard comes up with the stop, followed by an incredible toss to Landon Donovan, who slotted it wide to Jozy Altidore. Jozy turned on the burners and then slotted it right to Clint Dempsey's foot. The Algerian keeper came up with a nice save, but then it was the veteran Donovan who came back into the picture, having not given up on the play and sending the Yanks through to the next round.

So what does it all mean? We live to fight another day. Our opponent will be decided this afternoon. With the pressure of winning our group added, we go into Saturday's match with the stakes raised even higher. The US can celebrate this evening, but then it's back to business. I expect a renewed sense of confidence to be very prominent in the knockout stage. As long as this doesn't crossover into the brash, cocky stage, the US will be in good shape. We need those four who combined on the final goal to play as good as ever. We need our back line to be solid. We can't get lost in transition. (Michael Bradley played incredibly in this regard today. Hustling the entire game. Won't show up in the box score, but greatly impacted this game.) But most of all, we need to make the most of our chances.

Bob Bradley needs to be commended again on his substitutions. I liked starting Herculez Gomez, to see if he could break through in the first half. But when it was clear Algeria was going to lock down in the back, moving the scrappy and creative Clint Dempsey to the front was the right move. Feilhaber comes into the midfield on that switch, and then Bob brings in the more offensive-minded Edson Buddle for Maurice Edu. That move, and then the final move of the vet Damarcus Beasley proved that Bobby B was moving all-in. And it worked. We'll see you Saturday.