On Landon Donovan: An American Hero.

In the 90th minute yesterday, Tim Howard saved a scary looking header and proceeded to hurl the ball past the half-line. It looked as if the play had been rehearsed, as it was soon five Americans on just four Algerians. Jozy Altidore, who played his life out the whole game, put the ball over perfectly to Clint Dempsey, who got beat up the whole game, including an elbow in the box that wasn't called. Dempsey was only able to ricochet the ball off the keeper.

As America looked on, for that split second, it was over. We played over and over in our heads the Edu disallowed goal in the Slovenia game, the bullshit off-side call against Dempsey in this game in the 35th minute. America was going to go home early.

But then, in the right place at the right time, as he has been so many times for this country, Landon Donovan flew onto the screen and emphatically buried the ball in the back left corner.

What followed was one of the most passionate celebrations I've ever seen and the world record for increased internet traffic over the span of just an hour. The entire world now knows what the U.S.A. is capable of, and it's because an entire team of men who really care about this tournament and who are actually giving everything they have are delivering. It's also because Donovan has been the best leader you could possibly ask him to be. He also roofed the goal in the Slovenia game that would lead to the rally that led to the tie (should have been a win, but I'm over that now).

What did he have to say about it?: "The net looked like the ocean." Top that, William Butler Yeats.

This result couldn't be any better, the United States have won their group for the first time since 1930, they've recorded their first clean sheet in 12 games, and they have a great leader to rely on in Landon Donovan, an American hero.

On United States: What they need to do to beat Algeria.

United States have to win against Algeria. I know that they can tie, but in my book they have to win this game. They need a result, a three point result, going into the elimination rounds. Before I begin giving my keys to the Algeria game, a quick note on the call that denied Edu in the 86th minute: it's bullshit. I have never seen a more poorly officiated game, throughout, than United States v. Slovenia.

Now, here are my keys for a win against Algeria:

1. Better pressure on the ball, more organization in the back. I've seen one too many times in this tournament already the United States defense get split open as a result of defenders out of position, poor pressure on the ball, or just sloppy play from the defenders.

This starts in the midfield though, I know Michael Bradley got a goal and all, but the kid needs to put more pressure on the ball. He's letting practically everything get by him, and whoever is next to him, Clark or Torres, is doing just as bad of a job.

Also: DON'T CONCEDE A GOAL IN THE FIRST 30 MINUTES. For some reason, I don't know if it's just that it takes us Americans longer to wake up because of the time change, or what, but Americans traditionally get scored on early, and this tournament has shown that that can be the kiss of death in a game.

2. Herculez Gomez/Edu/Edson Buddle need to play well. Robbie Findley, a player I have been adamantly condemning, will be unable to play in this match because of a two yellow card suspension. This means that whichever of the three forwards Bradley chooses to start (hopefully Buddle or Gomez) needs to play well, not only so that they can establish confidence in their team, but so that Findley can stay on the bench where he belongs.

If Altidore has help up top from one of these three that he has desperately been lacking with the hapless Findley in the game, the U.S. could break this game open.

3. Control Ziani. Ziani has shown that he is the most creative player that the Algerians have, and he is very capable of causing some problems for the U.S. I don't know if they need to double him when he's on the ball or have someone like Cherundolo cover him the whole game, but we can't afford to leave this guy unmarked and we certainly can't afford to give him the ball 40 yards out with 10 yards of space in front of him. If that happens, close your eyes.

4. Team leaders need to keep it up. Donovan's goal in the Slovenia game was probably the biggest shot of adrenaline the U.S. could have hoped for, and it's evident in the TWO goals that they scored afterward (See what I did there?) mean that they are fired up. Donovan and other leaders like Bocanegra, Dempsey, and Howard need to keep up the intensity and the passion because that's what younger players like Altidore and Bradley are thriving on.

These are my keys for what the United States need to do to beat Algeria on Wednesday. Have some of your own? Comment!

On African Countries: How far each of them will go

The 2010 World Cup marks the first time the tournament has ever taken place in Africa. This has led some to speculate if an African country will make a surprise run this year or not, as no country has ever gone farther than Cameroon in 1990, when they made it all the way to the quarter-finals, where they were narrowly beaten by England. Furthermore, there are a number of dark horses in Africa that everyone is excited about.

In light of this, I've decided to profile the African teams in the tournament this year to try and see who will do well.

1. Cameroon.














Cameroon is, historically, the best African country at football, especially in the World Cup. Their star player is Samuel Eto'o, who is known for being the fastest player on the ball in the world. They also have goalkeeper Carlos Kameni, who made a name for himself by keeping Espanyol in La Liga this year.

However, there are a couple of red flags for Cameroon this year, the most prominent being the attitude of spiritual leader Eto'o. Eto'o has been publicly questioning his place in the international campaign, and has dropped off in form significantly this year. Added to that, he recieved a red card in the first ten minutes of the game against Portugal. Without Eto'o, Cameroon are going to have a much more difficult time in the tournament.

There are a couple of things going for Cameroon, though. They are known for having great depth at every position, as most players could basically start. This was proven when Webo came in the game after Eto'o was ejected and led the Lions to a shorthanded goal.

They are also in Group E, which will be dominated by Holland, who had an undefeated qualifying run. Left in Group E are Japan, Cameroon, and Denmark fighting for second place and a chance to enter the Round of 16. These are three completely different squads, obviously, so Cameroon will have to work together well and score often to keep themselves in the hunt.

2. Algeria.








The North Africans are a little undermatched going into the World Cup this year, they are probably the weakest of the African countries. They're going to have to be able to bounce back from a friendly 3-0 drumming by Ireland if they want to upset United States or worse yet England. Coupled with a few injuries of key players, Algeria's chances in the World Cup do not look too bright, at least from where I'm standing.

3. Ivory Coast.









My personal favorite African team, Ivory Coast has their work cut out for them in this tournament. Placed in a group with Portugal, Brazil, and the very capable North Korea, Ivory Coast are in what some believe to be "The Group of Death."

Ivory Coast are lead by star player and Premier League leading scorer Didier Drogba. They also have stars like Yaya Toure, Saloman Kalou, and recent Barca player Keita. They like to score quickly and often, and they'll need to do both to beat out the incredibly talented teams in their group.

They also just got a new coach from Sweden last week, although Drogba has come out in full support of him.

Ivory Coast may have their toughest work in the Group Stage, but if they can get past that, they may be able to make it to the semi-finals, or perhaps even farther.

4. Nigeria.









Nigeria are in a similar position to Cameroon. They have one mega giant in their group, Argentina, and then two other basically equally matched teams, South Korea and Greece. Greece is a team plagued with injuries, so Nigeria's real obstacle will probably be South Korea.

Any of these three could advance with Argentina, but Nigeria will have to rely on their experienced players like Bundesliga veteran Obafemi Martins and Portsmouth's John Utaka if they want to advance.

5. Ghana.









Ghana is everyone's favorite darkhorse right now. They were the runner up in the African Cup of Nations after a tough loss to Egypt, but everyone has tagged them as the African team to watch right now. This is a little odd, considering that Ghana is decidedly the runt of a group that consists of Serbia, Australia, and Germany. However, Ghana was capable of upsetting all of those teams. And I say was because Ghana recieved some terrible news two days ago: Chelsea star and team leader Michael Essien is injured and will not be able to make the tournament.

But the team has responded well, and have come out to say that they are more driven than ever to do well. And though they were solidly beaten 4-1 against Holland on Tuesday, analysts like what they saw, and are still calling the upset with this team.

The key match will be their opener against Serbia on the 13th, as the loser will surely be out of the tournmanet.

6. South Africa.










Now things get interesting. No host team has ever failed to advance out of the Group Stage in the history of the World Cup. However, Group A with France, Uruguay, Mexico, and South Africa has been consistently fingered as the best Group in the tournament, with the obvious weakest link being South Africa.

Add the controversial exclusion of the country's all time leading scorer from the squad, and there has been some speculation if South Africa will be the first ever host country to miss out.

However, a lot of people are saying that there is no clear winner of this group. France has been performing terribly in their friendly matches, and weaker Uruguay has shown themselves to be quite a force to be reckoned with. Mexico has one of the most committed fan bases in the world, and are thought to be a dark horse to possibly advance even to the semi-finals. There are no guarantees for South Africa, no matter what the history books say.

This is what I think about Africa's chances this year. Have your own opinions? Weigh in!