The U.S. team meets Algeria Wednesday in their final group match, the outcome of which will determine their advancement into the second round. The team is known for its proclivity for conceding early goals and has to bring the energy level up in the first half if they stand any chance of staying in the Cup.
Long before they made it to the cup, the U.S. was recording slow starts in their qualifying games, where they conceded the first goal during six of their 10 final round matches. Adding to this statistic the U.S. team was behind before the 20th minute in four of these occasions.
This trend was first documented during the U.S. opening match against England in which the Yanks were behind after just four minutes. In their second match against Slovenia U.S. keeper Tim Howard staved off goals until the 13th minute when Slovenian forward Valter Birsa curled one past him.
Midfielder Landon Donovan said of Saturday’s match against Slovenia that “We started the match poorly, I think we were tentative . . . At that point we had no choice but to punch the game. It’s easy in hindsight to saw why [we] didn’t start that way, but we need to start games that way, especially going into our third game”.
This can be characterized as the American team’s weakness, and will be played upon this Wednesday if Algeria is smart enough to take advantage of the slow starting U.S. “It’s frustrating when you go through a stretch when it seems like, in that feeling out process of the game, you find yourselves behind too often” U.S. Coach Bob Bradley said on Saturday at a news conference, who said the team is aware of this fault and working hard to change it.
Though a new contender in the world cup in terms of their skill level, the players on the U.S. national team are not unfamiliar with the pressure of a big game. There are even some World Cup veterans on the team; Eddie Lewis who was at the 2002 and 2006 world cup should offer a level of calm amongst his teammates. Lewis will be working extra hard on Wednesday as he believes America has used up their luck in the tournament, "We probably got our luck for the group out of the way so we’re going to have to make our own luck from here," Lewis said of Clint Dempsey’s easy goal on England keeper Robert Green.
Still the World Cup stage is a daunting place to find yourself, no matter how prepared you think you are. Critics of America’s tendency to allow early goals must also keep in mind that once the referee’s whistle blows, there are no time outs in which coaches can rally the emotions of their players, or instruct them on their errs, or change up the tactics. Soccer is a sport for the players, who must see if through to the very physically demanding end.
Star player Donovan carried the team during the first half of the Slovenia game, scoring one of their 2 goals, and is ready for the do- or-die Algerian match. After the Slovenia game, Donovan is a top scoring threat. He usually occupies a spot on the ride side of midfield which will have him up against Algeria’s Nadir Balhadj, their top player and aggressive left wingback. Algeria is also playing to the death after a 1-0 defeat to Slovenia in their first round and the ambitious but unfruitful 0-0 draw with England.
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