The US team came back from a 2-0 deficit at the half to tie Slovenia on Friday morning in an important Group C match-up. The bad start was overcome by amazing goals by Donovan and Bradley. Donovan really stepped up as the leader of this team organizing the attack and rocketing a ball into the upper portion of the goal. In the 85th minute, an apparent game-winning goal by Edu was called back by a horrendous call. Replays showed Slovenia blatantly grabbing several US players but somehow the ref managed to call a foul on against the US team. On which player, we’ll never know. We had been getting the short end of the stick on calls all game, but this one was unbelievable. The comeback to tie was great and saved the US chances to get through to the next round, but that call was egregious and cost us a win that would have taken control of the group. I want to be proud of the comeback but honestly I feel more angry than anything else.
The good news is England played poorly and tied Algeria 0-0 allowing the US to control their own destiny in the last match: a win and they’re in. The team has a history of playing well when they have a cause and they certainly do now. We have an advantage in goals scored (by 2) against England that could help in tiebreaker situations if both teams tie or win by the same differential, but they really need a straight win against Algeria. If not getting credit for the additional 2 points they earned against Slovenia comes back to cost them, I will be extremely angry. The last game will also have the additional drama of seeing who from this group will have to face Germany in the next round. That became unclear when Germany (playing with 10 men) was upset by Serbia. I am excited to watch the US win a game to advance and I love the drama of the simultaneous last games of group play. GO USA!!!
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