Win and We’re In: Today’s The Day for the U.S. World Cup Hopes
With the continued growth of soccer in the U.S., a successful showing by the U.S. Men’s National Team might not quite be a fairy tale. But for futbol fans across the country, today’s the day to stop wishing upon a star and start rooting on the stars and bars.
With a win against Algeria in Pretoria this morning (10am ESPN) the U.S. is guaranteed a slot in the knockout round of the World Cup, regardless of the England-Slovenia result. To combat collusion between teams who don’t want to see a rival advance (especially important because the first tie-breaker is goal differential) the final group games are played simultaneously.
Heading into today’s action Group C standings look like this:
- Slovenia (1-0-1) 7 points GD: 1
- England (0-0-2) 2 points GD: 0
- USA (0-0-2) 2 points GD: 0
- Algeria (0-1-1) 1 point GD: -1
There are plenty of complicated scenarios in which the U.S. can finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the group. (For all of them, click Yahoo here)
Most importantly: with a win, the U.S. advances. With a loss, Landon & Co. make an early exit.
In years past, the mere fact that the U.S. is in the strong position of controlling its own destiny would have been considered a victory for soccer in this country. This year, however, without a victory today the World Cup will be considered a loss.
A win today would surely rank among the most important victories in the history not only of U.S. soccer, but in U.S. sport. The U.S. has never been a “soccer playing nation” and has a history of lucky breakthroughs allowing the team to advance. (Here, from SI.) A victory today, however, will prove a lot.
VICTORY!