Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
There's a case to be made that the own-goal by Colombia's Andres Escobar, helping the United States advance to the second round of the 1994 World Cup, was the most important, but let's have our best moment be a goal by one of our own players.
And 1950? I'm sick and tired of hearing about 1950. Sure, the U.S. shocked the world and defeated England in the 1950 World Cup. What else happened? Yes, they lost both of their other matches and bombed out of the tournament, needing forty years to figure out a way to qualify again. Forty. Years.
Donovan's strike did not win the World Cup for America, so our celebrations should be rather mitigated at this point. In fact, after some terrible backline mistakes in the first two matches, an inability to finish in all three matches and some very questionable calls in the last two, the goal really only did for the United States what we expected them to do all along: advance out of the group.
The U.S. will face a very tough Ghana team on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET and will undoubtedly be facing a hostile crowd as Africa's remaining hopes in the Cup now lie with the Ghanaians. England, who finished second in Group C will face Germany, who wins Group D with today's victory over Ghana. That match will be Sunday afternoon.
So no, Donovan's goal didn't win the 2010 World Cup, and there is still a lot of work to be done for that to happen. Should the U.S. beat Ghana they'll face the winner of Uruguay and Korea, another entirely winnable match. That would put them in the semifinals, likely against a team like Brazil or the Netherlands. Today didn't come close to winning the 2010 World Cup, no matter how much it felt that way. But here's the thing, today's win very well may have won the 2022 World Cup for America.
The 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids will be awarded in December, and with the United States bidding for both, the chances of winning one of the bids increases with every match the United States win this year. No, the result on the field doesn't actually factor in to the bid process – the top competitors for the 2022 bid are Australia and two countries that didn't qualify for this year's tournament – but the nationwide interest in soccer and the immense television ratings for ESPN are incredibly important.
Had the United States bowed out of the World Cup with three ties, the interest level in the next few rounds would drop in half. Now, by not only moving to the second round, but by winning the group, the interest will surely grow heading into this weekend's match. With increased interest, another 12 years to build toward the World Cup in 2022, the United States could – I stress could – develop a serious pipeline for international soccer. It's not unreasonable to think that the host country could be a favorite to win that tournament.
And yes, I'm getting ahead of myself. It was just one goal. But remember today when the bids are announced later in the year. If the United States gets the 2022 (or even 2018) World Cup, today was a huge reason why. Some ten year old kid out there who watched today's match and ran outside to re-enact that goal over and over again in his backyard…he might just be thanking Donovan in 12 years.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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"… the United States could – I stress could – develop a serious
pipeline for international soccer."
We could accomplish this with or without today’s result — if we wished to. It would require a substantial investment in infrastructure, and we would need to identify, train, and develop potential players much more effciently and proficiently than is our current standard.
There are hotbeds of soccer across the country. In my state alone, central Florida and the panhandle offer up some decent high school soccer and some pretty good club teams. The problem lies with the quality of coaching. Club teams get expensive, as the coaches are paid. Not so in high school, and therein lies a problem. The game becomes less accessible.
While the USA is a sleeping giant in soccer, some one with money has to care enough to wake us up.
Perhaps today’s result will nudge the giant from slumber. Perhaps…
by guardian of the galaxy on Jun 23, 2010 9:52 PM EDT reply actions
The team displayed enough skill and toughness to make the sport attractive and enough heart to make the game compelling. Furthermore, the opposing team was almost a perfect foil – a team that had everything except scoring ability (which is similar to the US). This allowed the US to (barely) get away with 3 defenders when 5 are needed (and 4 fielded) against most opponents.
The winning goal was much less important than the overall team performance, but the media hypes the goal and match winner, when the reality is that the later was several minutes from being the goat yet again for underperforming for most of the match. The victory was partially due to someone assuming Davies key role in taking people on OFF THE DRIBBLE. Almost unbelievably, this individual was Altidore. It was also partially due to he and Dempsey continuing to fight and try to score after hard fouls and missed chances. The whole team showed that spirit and that quality can make a huge difference in winning games and attracting fans.
Algeria let their guard down for just a minute at the end and the US was able to capitalize. It is unclear whether they will have as much success against other opponents. Hopefully, they will continue to grow as a team and develop as players.
by sportsFan on Jun 24, 2010 8:57 AM EDT reply actions
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