I guess you can call it poetic justice that the U.S. got a last-minute goal against Algeria to advance to the Knockout stage of the World Cup, something they haven't done since the Great Depression.
That single goal by Landon Donovan increased soccer's popularity so much in this country. Even in bars here in Nashville people were up bright and early on a work day to support their country in the world's greatest sporting event.
By scoring more goals than England they got the tiebreaker and won the group, meaning they avoided the likes of Germany and Spain which are on the other side of the bracket. They wouldn't have to potentially play Brazil until the semi-finals.
You definitely can't get caught looking ahead at this point. Ghana is said to be a young team that is very capable of scoring a quick goal. Their defense is their weak point which I believe the U.S. will be able to exploit effectively.
If they get by Ghana then the U.S. would play either Uruguay or South Korea. Everyone expects Uruguay to take care of business here but then again no one expected South Korea to advance to this point.
Either way both of these teams are not impossible to beat by U.S. standards.
If we are all fortunate enoughy to see the Americans reach the semi-finals then we might be rewarded with a rematch of last summer's Confederations Cup final with Brazil. A game that the U.S. was leading 2-0 before crumbling in the second half.
Looking over the 16 teams remaining in the World Cup I would say the Americans are better than at least half of them which means the have a great chance at advancing to a date with Brazil.
If this happens then this whole country might just have to take a sick day. Just tell the boss you're supporting the country. I'm sure he or she will understand and probably go watch it with you.
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