World Cup: U.S. vs Algeria: Agony for the Americans as Clint Dempsey hits the post

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

No matter what sort of arguments might be raging over whether Clint Dempsey was onside or offside with his disallowed first-half goal, there is no argument about the miss he just had.

Michael Bradley sprang Jozy Altidore free in midfield, Altidore beat his defender with ease and squared the ball into the goal area. The Algerian defense failed to clear the danger, and Dempsey sprinted in to fire a shot not into the waiting net but against the right post.

The ball rebounded clear, and another chance was gone.

As for the offside call, television replays in the stadium media area indicate that Dempsey was a shade offside. We only had one angle of the play, so it is difficult to be certain. The fact that Dempsey glanced around, as if to see whether he would be called, is a hint that even he felt he might have strayed offside.

The fact that the U.S. players did not protest long and loud is another indication that the referee got it right.

Any counter arguments are welcome, but here we are waiting to see what the coaches and players say after the final whistle.

-- Grahame L. Jones in Pretoria, South Africa