Tomorrow- US Soccer's Moment of Truth

Tomorrow’s another big day for US Soccer fans, perhaps the biggest one so far. By mid-day Eastern time, we’ll know whether US fans will have any further opportunity to cheer on their team in the 2010 World Cup.

Thanks to a great second half comeback against Slovenia a few days ago - and some help from a lack-luster English team - the US team can fully control its own destiny tomorrow. All they have to do is secure a win against Algeria and they will clinch a berth in the round of 16. (Still confused about how teams earn their right to continue? Read more about World Cup tournament structure here.)

But can they do it? Most analysts seem to think so. And, if you believe the news conferences anyway, the US team itself is very optimistic about their chances. That’s not to say that we can count the Algerians out, however. They’ve shown that on their best day they can play with much higher ranked teams. They did just hold England to a scoreless tie, after all. Finally, the US team has been a bit weak defensively. If they get sloppy tomorrow, even for a little bit, they could find themselves playing catch up again.

Everyone seems to agree that the US’s objective will be to score early. Unfortunately, the US has not traditionally be great in matches where they are favored and need to score early, but this team has a bit more experience and, with it, confidence. And we’ve already seen this week that they have enough heart to stage a gutsy comeback if necessary.

What happens if the US team fails to win tomorrow? Fortunately, thanks again to a relatively poor performance from England to date, the US could potentially still advance even if they tie Algeria. In that case, they would need some help from Slovenia. With a loss, the US have no chance to go through, at least as far as I can tell.

Can’t wait to see how it all turns out tomorrow! Go USA! And while we’re at it…. Go Slovenia (sorry England)!

P.S. There’s good news for those fans who are still scarred from referee Koman Coulibaly’s bizarre disallowal of a go-ahead goal in the US-Slovenia game: I’m hearing rumblings that the referee assigned to tomorrow’s all -important game is very experienced and widely respected.