The Greatest Goal in U.S. Soccer History
“Landon Donovan, the greatest player in U.S. Soccer history, has scored the goal in stoppage time that’s qualifying [the U.S.] to the next round in the World Cup.” That’s a translated transcript of the end of Andres Cantor’s epic goal call of Landon Donovan’s goal vs Algeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. If you haven’t heard it, check it out on YouTube. The emotion heard in Cantor’s voice gives you goosebumps and is an appropriate summary of what had just happened at the time. The moment is one that I love to think about and revisit, mainly because it’s one of the last bright spots for the U.S. men in soccer (more on that later). As thrilling as it is to remember this epic moment, it’s better appreciated when you look at what happened right before.
Sports Illustrated recently did a recap on the 2010 FIFA World Cup due it being 10 years since it happened. 10 years!! It’s crazy to think it’s already been so long since we tuned into the first World Cup played in Africa bringing along with it the unforgettable sound of vuvuzelas and colorful views in the stands. South Africa put on a show for the world and the main protagonists was Spain, as the Iberians finally broke through and won the tournament in memorable fashion. Spain itself was a great story with its attractive possession-based style of play and the pressure of having to live up to the expectations the team set with their run to the title 2 years earlier in the UEFA Euro and the fact this team was in its prime. Andres Iniesta scoring the game winner in the final vs the Netherlands is the most memorable takeaway from that summer, but there were some other of note. Enter Landon Donovan and the United States.
The U.S. had qualified for that tournament with relative ease, losing only 2 games in the final round of qualifying and finishing atop the table. This accomplishment was soured by the devastating news that forward Charlie Davies suffered severe injuries in an accident ahead of the final qualifier vs Costa Rica. Davies had formed a formidable partnership with teammate Jozy Altidore and the team looked set for the future with two promising young strikers. Now, coach Bob Bradley faced the issue of having to find an adequate replacement.
Before the tournament started, the U.S. was given bulletin board material as they were drawn into a group with England, Algeria and Slovenia. England’s The Sun published a headline that spelled out E-A-S-Y, which pointed out how they should have no issue qualifying due to having an easy group. To be fair, the U.S. had only beaten England twice in all their history and had lost to the Three Lions in their most recent matchups. That prediction seemed like it was spot on as the English jumped out to a quick lead 4 minutes into the game. Ironically, those first couple of minutes were England’s highest points of the tournament. England continued to look for a second, but the U.S. began to push forward to tie the game. On one occasion, Clint Dempsey managed to shake off Steven Gerrard and let out what seemed like a harmless shot on goal. Instead, English goalkeeper Rob Green misplayed the ball and the score was tied. That ended up being the final score line and the New York Post trolled The Sun by publishing a headline that said “USA Wins 1–1!”
The feeling amongst American soccer fans was that the hard part was over, and that now it was time to go beat the remaining opponents. Unfortunately, the players seemed to believe the same thing. They came out flat against Slovenia in the first half of their second game and once again fell down 1–0 early on. The U.S. pushed forward and created chances to tie but were unable to equalize, despite coming frustratingly close. After leaving their backline exposed, Slovenia caught them off guard and make the score line 2–0, causing the U.S. to enter the halftime break confused and broken. Coach Bob Bradley realized it was time to make changes and did so by sending in Benny Feilhaber and Maurice Edu, which worked out almost instantly. Landon Donovan scored an early goal to cut the Slovenian lead in half. After that, the traffic was one sided as the U.S. pushed forward and the Slovenians tried their best to hold onto their lead. Michael Bradley finally capitalized and evened the score at 2 with less than 10 minutes to go.
Slovenia was on their heels and with the U.S. carrying all the momentum, it looked like they just might pull off a dramatic come from behind win. The U.S. was awarded a free kick close to the Slovenian goal. Donovan sent in the cross and Maurice Edu got on the end of it and scored! They did it! They completed the impossible and were minutes from an improbable victory! Or so we thought. Inexplicably, referee Koman Coulibaly disallowed the goal and didn’t give a reason for it. He was quickly approached by midfielder Michael Bradley and others who asked for the reason only to receive no answer. To this day, we still don’t know why that goal was disallowed. The game was a mix of emotions. You went from despair to relief to joy and lastly, frustration. Despite two ties being less than glamorous, the results didn’t affect the U.S. as England and Algeria finished with a scoreless draw, leaving the Stars and Stripes in first place due to goal differential. This meant they were in a win and you’re in scenario vs Algeria.
Algeria was playing in their first World Cup since 1986 and also had a shot to qualify for the knockout stage with a win. The Algerians had been solid defensively, allowing only 1 goal in 2 games, which was highlighted by keeping England scoreless in their previous game. Both teams had to win to advance, so the game had promise as neither could afford to sit back and defend. Just like the previous two games, the U.S. fell behind early. Well, almost. Algeria’s Rafik Djebbour hit the crossbar seven minutes into the game and the U.S. avoided another early deficit, if only by a couple of inches. Afterward, the game was somewhat of a back and forth affair. The U.S. scored in the 20th minute to take the lead. Again, or so we thought. This time it was ruled offsides though replays appeared to show goal scorer Clint Dempsey to be onside. Had the final result not been what it turned out to be, that might have received more attention.
Both teams went to half time without scoring and the feeling was both would continue to push forward. The U.S. created most of the chances, but the Algerians remained dangerous whenever they approached Tim Howard’s goal. Clint Dempsey missed a golden opportunity when he hit a shot off the post and sent the rebound over the goal. Other chances were saved by goalkeeper Raïs M’Bolhi and it seemed the U.S. would bow out in the group stage for the second World Cup in a row. If the score remained the same along with that of England vs Slovenia, the U.S. would finish a disappointing third place. The talk after this game would focus on what went wrong. Once again, U.S. fans were hit a sudden mix of emotions.
First, Algerian substitute Rafik Saïfi was about to receive a cross all alone in the box and would surely give Algeria a late and almost insurmountable lead. Saïfi headed the cross on goal, but right at the hands of goalkeeper Tim Howard. Howard saw Landon Donovan alone and with space to run, so he lobbed a perfect pass in his direction. Donovan ran towards the Algerian goal with plenty of options as to who to pass to or could choose to shoot on goal if he wanted to. Whatever he did, he had to decide quickly before his window of opportunity closed. Donovan passed to Altidore on his right who quickly passed to Clint Dempsey who was in the middle to his left. Dempsey shot at goal, but goalkeeper M’Bolhi stopped the shot, leaving a big rebound in the process. The ball went right to Donovan’s feet and Landon did what he did best and put it in the back of the net.
At the time, I couldn’t believe it. Did Donovan actually score? Did the U.S. really just win this game in agonizing fashion late in stoppage time to advance to the knockout stage? I still remind myself this really happened and get chills when I relive the moment and listen to a call of the action. Donovan immediately ran down and celebrated in the corner, while being mobbed by his teammates and coaching staff. Americans fans in the stadium and back home were euphoric as the team had overcome questionable officiating and early scares to pull off the victory. This result combined with England beating Slovenia in their final game of the group stage allowed the U.S. to finish on top of the group. So much for this group being easy for the Three Lions, right?
When the final whistle blew, Landon Donovan kicked the ball into oblivion while players and fans celebrated the emotional victory. The famous tagline from ABC’s Wide World of Sports was visible on the field as you saw the thrill of victory on the faces of American players and fans, while at the same time seeing the agony of defeat with the Algerians. Algeria had played well and created chances. They didn’t deserve to go home without scoring a goal. But as we see many times in soccer, the result isn’t what based on what you deserve, but what you make happen.
Donovan’s goal didn’t go unnoticed as a video went viral in the days following the game of fans around the country reacting to the score. Donovan was at a loss for words in the postgame interviews and couldn’t contain his emotions while talking about the moment. He had scored many important goals while with the team, but the magnitude of this goal set it apart from any other. Scoring on the biggest stage when your team needs you most? That’s the definition of clutch. Donovan had his moment in the sun and he shined brightly. Unfortunately, that was the one of the last bright spots the U.S. men have had. They’d lose in frustrating fashion to Ghana in the next game and were eliminated from the tournament. This would be Donovan’s final World Cup game as he was left off the squad in 2014 and later retired.
As for the U.S. men, it’s unfortunately been down hill since then. They qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and made it out of the group stage only to lose to Belgium in the knockout stage, avoiding a blowout due to the efforts of goalkeeper Tim Howard. Catastrophe struck as the team failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia. An in depth look of that track wreck is coming soon, but it felt to look back on the brightest moment the U.S. have had in this millennium. Donovan and that team provided some excitement and joy 10 years ago. Due to recent struggles, we look at those moments with fondness and wonder when we’ll be able to enjoy a moment like that again. For now, on behalf of U.S. Soccer fans everywhere, I say thank you Landon for allowing us to have that more of pure euphoria, even if it was brief. Without a doubt, he scored the greatest goal is U.S. Soccer history.
