U.S. team eyes knockout performance vs. Ghana

EVERYONE settled down?

Yes, Landon Donovan's goal against Algeria goes down as one of the most important goals scored in an international game by an American. It put the United States into the second round of the World Cup, the first step through what the rest of the world refers to as the "knockout stage." And, by finishing ahead of England in Group C, it gets what would seem to be an easier draw - Ghana tomorrow, South Korea or Uruguay next, should it win; England has Germany on Sunday, and likely Argentina should it advance.

But, once again, the Americans needed a furious, last-minute rush to get the result they needed. They weren't behind this time, but that's because an Algerian shot banged into the crossbar in the game's sixth minute. And an apparent U.S. goal in the 20th minute was disallowed because scorer Clint Dempsey was deemed to be offsides.

So the teams battled into extra time, with the USA needing to win. England's 1-0 victory over Slovenia guaranteed the Three Lions moving on, and left Slovenia ahead of the Americans, where it would finish if Algeria held on to tie.

And as almost always happens in major men's international events, the Americans had to win the final game of the first round or go home to 4 more years of obscurity and promises that the next time would be it.

But Donovan came to the rescue, again. If a vote were taken for the MVP through the first round of World Cup games, Argentina's Lionel Messi would win, but not by much over Donovan. His goal that began the comeback against Slovenia was one of the best of the tournament, and his leadership through the rest of that second half was the difference between a 2-1 loss and the ultimate 2-2 tie.

"Without a doubt, Landon has grown in many ways," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said after the game. "From the soccer end, he mentions the low after the World Cup in 2006 [out in three games]. But there also was the challenge of taking a bigger role, being more responsible as a leader. He's never shied away from challenges."

"I've been through a lot in the last 4 years," Donovan said, "and so I'm glad it culminated this way. It makes me believe in the good world, and when you try to do things the right way it's good to see them get rewarded.''

Getting beyond the first round is the goal of all 32 teams in South Africa. For the Americans, 16 of whom play professionally in Europe, advancing was do-or-die.

"We want to do something here this whole time, and I think we're on our way to doing that,'' said defender Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, German Bundesliga). "But I don't think we would consider ourselves a team of destiny . . . This team is on a serious run.''

"We all believe in each other," said striker Jozy Altidore, who spent most of last season with Hull in the Premier League. "We believe in our abilities and the leadership is good. With that, you're never out of any game."

The USA now goes into a World Cup game as a favorite, playing a team it lost to in the 2006 tournament.

Maybe Ghana will score first, maybe Donovan will have to rally the team again.

Maybe the referee and linesmen will not miss a call, or call phantom infractions.

Or maybe the U.S. team finally scores the first goal and coasts into the quarterfinals. *