World Cup: U.S. vs. Algeria: Close call as Algerians almost score early

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

The U.S. is in all-white, Algeria in all-green. Former President Clinton is among those in the crowd. It has taken Algeria less than a minute to take its first shot, Karim Matmour blazing his effort over Tim Howard’s crossbar. The U.S. responds when Landon Donovan floats a cross in from the right, but it’s an easy catch for goalkeeper Rais M. Bolhi, who looks resplendent in his all-violet outfit.

The U.S. is off to a cautious start, apparently unwilling to expose itself on defense by throwing numbers forward. The early goals scored against it by England and Slovenia are having an impact. The passes out of the back have not been great; three were straight turnovers.

Wow. The U.S. barely survived that moment. Matmour has just hit a shot-on-the-turn that flew over Howard and rattled the U.S. crossbar. A few inches lower and that would have been disaster. But not for Algeria.

--Grahame L. Jones in Pretoria, South Africa