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Like much of the rest of the nation, captivated by the U.S. men's soccer team's riveting 1-0 victory over Algeria today, former President Bill Clinton was cheering on the U.S. side. And he was doing it in person. In the final minutes, like the entire U.S. fan base, he was on the edge of his seat.
Vice President Biden attended the opening ceremony, met with the team, cheered it on during its 1-1 England tie and returned to Washington soon after. Biden certainly has more pressing matters to deal with today with the president's ouster of Gen. McChrystal and replacing him with CENTCOM Commander David Petraeus. McChrystal and his team ridiculed Biden, who voiced his opposition to McChrystal's operation. Biden preferred the war be narrower in scope and more focused on Pakistan.
The U.S.'s win secures the top spot in Group C. The top two teams qualify from each group for a round-robin, one-loss knockout tournament field of 16.
The team was minutes from not qualifying before -- in the 91st minute -- midfielder Landon Donovan took a rebound and put it in the back of the net with a low, hard strike. This came after a barrage of offense from the U.S. in a wide-open match that pitted two teams, who needed a win to move through. In a parallel match, England defeated Slovenia 1-0 to also secure a place in the tournament.
The U.S. will find out its next opponent some time after 4:00 pm ET after the results of the final Group D matches between Germany-Ghana and Serbia-Australia. The U.S., by virtue of its top group finish, would face the second-place team from Group D. Ghana currently leads it, but with a tenuous one-point edge over both Germany and Serbia.
Wins by Germany and Serbia would send those two through with the U.S. taking on Serbia. A Germany-Ghana tie plus a Serbia win would send Serbia to the top of the group, eliminate Germany and put Ghana in second -- to face the U.S. If Germany wins and Serbia ties, Germany wins the group, Ghana and Serbia would have four points each, and it would come down to goal differential. Currently Ghana is +1 and Serbia is even.
The winner of that first round U.S. tournament match would face the winner of Uruguay-South Korea.
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That's great! He is well known and well liked around the world. President Clinton is a great fan to have rooting for our team.Where is George Bush (Dubya)? Surely he has the time to attend the soccer games and root for the home team. Maybe he is keeping a low profile so as to avoid flying shoes etc.
Who was it that said that Americans hated soccer?!?!?! USA, USA, USA ;=)
For many countries, their national pride is tied to how well their soccer team performs. In the last 25 years soccer has made great strides in the US. As a past FIFA referee, I can say it is a great game.
What a game, what a game, what a game!!!! I had chills all over after we scored that goal. I thought about pulling my shirt off and sliding across the floor on my knees, but figured my boss wouldn't be too keen on that one! ;-)
You could see that President Clinton was very much into it. Check out the article from Yahoo's World Cup blogger:
http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Bill-Clinton-s-face-proof-football-has-arrived-?urn=sow,250749
Domenico...nice job of breaking out the possibilties from Group D. Are you a soccer fan? Because you sure wrote this article like one. Throughout my high school and college soccer careers, I played against 7 different players that made the US World Cup team at some point or another. (None on the current team however).
Frank: I didn't know you were a soccer player! That's one more reason why you are a cool guy.
Ron...I didn't know you were an ex-referee. That's cool. A friend of mine is a referee's assistant who has done MLS and some friendlies. I played Division 1 college soccer as a striker. That was a blast. Now, I coach my son. He is an incredible defender, which just kills me as a former striker! :-)
Interesting facts about 2 of my favorites posters--you guys are both cool! And Frank, c'mon over to our side---you'll have a friendly welcome!
Frank: 30 years ago in Arizona soccer was brand new. I was teaching guys the laws of soccer. They had a rule book in one hand and running around in cowboy boots. Eventually they took off their cowboy boots in favor of running shoes. Oh for the good ol days. I was a referee until I realized that those college kids could run faster than I and if I didn't quit, someone would get hurt. Still have my patch, finger whistle, yellow and red cards...and memories.
I actually am a soccer fan. My father was born in Italy and my grandfather born in Brazil (or Brasil). So I have three rooting interests. Though the order goes: 1. USA, 2. Italy, 3. Brazil.
I also used to be a sports reporter and wrote a few international soccer columns for the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey and covered the 2002 World Cup locally for the paper.
Projected response from all the right wing posters on the board:
"Disgusting filth! How dare he besmirch our beloved national team with his presence! And soccer is a lousy Euro game played by socialists anyway. Who cares about that? This is nothing more than MORE evidence of how much the American people hate ObaMao! ObaMao sucks! We will destroy you in November! The latest poll results say so!"
Does this mean that I SHOULDN'T say that while he was kicking the ball, he was seeing Keneth Starr?
Hooray USA just as long as we don't have to go to war with somebody over a soccer game.
We've dodged Germany and have a decent draw for the next two games no matter who we play since Germany won, they play England next... *smirks*
The U.S. couldn't ask for a better draw, really. The one downside is that Ghana will be the home team and have a lot of momentum behind them. They will be the only African team to qualify and nearly the entire stadium will be behind them: Africa's Little Ghana vs. the Super Power. That's going to be tough to deal with. That said, I think the U.S. has a better squad man for man, and look for it to be in the order of 1-0, 2-1 USA.
Whoever wins this match, takes on the winner of Uruguay and South Korea. While both are good teams, and Uruguay has had a very good World Cup, compare that with what's happening in the other brackets.
For example: Germany-England face off in the first rd and take on the winner of Argentina (which has won all three of its matches in style) and Mexico, which can always be tough. In the bracket below the U.S., you're looking at right now potential match ups between the red-hot Netherlands and the under-performing defending champions Italy, and the world's No. 1 Brazil and the always potentially dangerous Spain.
You can also follow me on Twitter @DomenicoNBC for more World Cup and politics, of course, insights.