Group C Still Up For Grabs

Every team in Group C still has a chance to advance to the knockout stages thanks to Algeria shocking England with a scoreless draw earlier today.

That drama came nowhere close to the drama the U.S. brought to the table against Slovenia earlier in the day.

For once the U.S. was the favorite to win, but that expectation was handled poorly as Slovenia took a two-goal lead to halftime.

Considering the U.S. had never come back from two goals down to get a draw, it looked hopeless that the U.S. would advance out of the group.

That's when Landon Donovan and the rest of the team began to work their magic. We saw a team that was desperate like a vicious dog backed into a corner.

Donovan scored the first goal as broke loose the right side and got within inches of the goalkeeper before scoring top-shelf just minutes into the second half.

The U.S. would get dangerously close to running out of time before the second goal and game-tying goal was scored by the coach's son Michael Bradley. It was pure excitement to say the least and it made you proud to be an American.

Jozy Altidore set Bradley up beautifully with a header that would make the soccer greats like Pele very proud.

What ended up overshadowing the great comeback was a horrible foul that was called on the U.S. that cost them from taking the lead with just minutes remaining. Even South Africa is ripping their own officials for calling a horrible game, but the U.S. should be counting it's blessings that they even got a draw after playing such a horrible first half.

With two draws Group C is still wide open for all four teams. The final two matchups will be England against group-leader Slovenia, and the U.S. against Algeria.

The scenario is simple for the U.S.: Beat Algeria and they'll advance. They'll still be alive with a draw if England loses or draws but fails to outscore the U.S. by more than two goals.

Confusing, I know.

One common thread among almost all sports is to just take care of business, and the U.S. has the luxury of controlling it's own destiny by defeating Algeria.

Don't expect this to be a walk in the park because obviously Algeria is better than some people gave them credit for. They held a solid English team to no goals and lost a tough one to Slovenia.

The U.S. has to play the full 90 minutes the way they're capable of playing and they'll beat Algeria. It's been 13 straight games since the U.S. shutout a team in the World Cup so what better time to do it than on Wednesday against Algeria.

Group C Standings

1. Slovenia 1-0-1 (4 pts) 3 goals
2. United States 0-0-2 (2 pts) 3 goals
3. England 0-0-2 (2 pts) 1 goal
4. Algeria 0-1-1 (1 pt) 0 goals