Was anyone else thinking all of these things too? US Soccer: It is Our Turn The life of a US Soccer fan is always stressful. If you don't believe me then go to wikipedia and look at the results on the last day of group play at the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. You'll see many times where a win, or a draw would have sent the US to the knockout phase, but instead they suffered a loss, or a draw and went home. The few times they did advance it was with the help of other teams. As I got ready to watch the game I had thoughts about how the US had blown their chances to advance so many times in two of the biggest tournaments they play in. Seeing how Algeria had only allowed one slop goal in the World Cup so far, I was quite concerned that these players would fail to advance once again at the hands of Africa. What do I mean? Rewind to two years ago and compare US rosters. Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, Jozy Altidore, Suart Holden, and Benny Feilhaber were all members of the 2008 US Olympic squad and are on the 2010 World Cup squad. They found themselves up 2-1 vs Holland in the 90+ minute of their second group match. The win would put them through to the knockout phase no matter what happened vs Nigeria in their last game. Holland tied the game though with a free kick and the US would need a win in their final game to advance. The US would see a player given a red card early even though he probably shouldn't have been given one. I've seen worse elbows. The US lost 2-1 and went home early. I can only imagine what thoughts these players must have had while watching and playing in their last group match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As the clock ticked away they probably were thinking, "Not this again!" Rewind four years earlier to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley, Marcus Hahanemann, Landon Donovan, and Oguchi Onyewu were all members of the 2006 US World Cup squad and are on the 2010 World Cup squad. These players saw two of their teammates given red cards in their second group match vs Italy. Thanks to an Italy own goal and red card they managed to play to a 1-1 draw. A win in their final match vs Ghana would send them through to the knockout phase. A bad call in the first half led to a Ghana penalty kick that they converted. The US would tie the game at 1-1 in the second half only to end up losing 2-1 and go home early. Just like the 2008 Olympic squad members, I can only imagine what was going through the minds of these players. It was probably something like, "Are we really going to blow it vs Africa again?" Now lets return to the present 2010 FIFA World Cup. The US once again managed to tie a European power at 1-1 on a slop goal. After seeing a win in their second game vs Slovenia taken from them because of one of the worst calls probably since the Hand of God goal in 1986, the US found themselves needing a win vs an African nation on the last day of group play. Just like in 2008 the second game was a 2-2 tie, but this time they over came another bad call in the final group match and topped an African nation to advance, instead of hoping for a result in their favor in the other group match on the last day. After what the players on this roster have been through over the past 4 years as far as bad calls and bad luck, they deserve the chance they have earned to compete in the knockout phase of an international soccer tournament. It is their turn to see if they have what it takes to be a champion.