June 23, 2010, 15 years ago today: The biggest goal in the history of United States soccer launches the Americans into the knockout round of the World Cup. Facing elimination, the U.S. game against Algeria went an excruciatingly long time as a scoreless tie. And a draw would have sent the Americans packing. But finally, during stoppage time in the 91st minute, Landon Donovan slammed a rebound into the net for the game’s only goal in a 1-0 victory. The match was telecast in prime time from South Africa, and for many in the United States, it was the first time they had ever celebrated a soccer victory.
The first-ever meeting between the two teams provided plenty of drama, beginning five minutes into the match when the Americans whiffed on a long down-pitch pass. Algeria’s Rafik Djebbour chested it to the turf, but his volley hit the bar. The U.S. should have taken the lead 20 minutes in when Clint Dempsey put it in the net after a rebound, only to have the celebration doused by a questionable offside call. The rest of the first half featured near-miss after near-miss by the Americans.
Then at the end, with the U.S. looking to be out of steam, came the goal for the ages off the foot of the USA’s all-time leading scorer. The BBC’s description of the play was very futbol—very British: “Joey Altidore raced clear down the right and crossed for Dempsey, whose point-blank effort was parried by the goalkeeper. The loose ball rolled into the path of Donovan, who made no mistake from six yards to send the American players and fans into raptures.” Nearly all of the U.S. team dogpiled Donovan as the stadium erupted (not to mention American living rooms).
Donovan’s goal, the 44th of his international career, gave the USA a World Cup group title for the first time in 80 years (since the very first World Cup in 1930). The “raptures” would be short-lived, however, as the U.S. was ushered out in the Round of 16 three days later in a 2-1 loss to Ghana. In 2014, the Americans would return to the World Cup Round of 16, falling 2-1 to Belgium in extra time. The U.S. did not qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and was eliminated in the knockout stage in 2022. As co-host of the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. is automatically in the tournament, but the pressure is on, as the program has struggled.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
