Like a mantra, just two words are going through the minds of the American players and nation.
Beat Algeria.
With a win over Algeria, the U.S.A. will ensure itself a place in the second round of the 2010 World Cup, regardless of the result between England vs. Slovenia.
But after conceding two early goals to tiny Slovenia, the U.S. squad knows not to take Algeria lightly.
Algeria lost their first game to Slovenia 1-0, before showing an excellent effort in their 0-0 tie with England.
"Algeria is a good team", said U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley. "The performances they put together in the African Cup of Nations were all really good. They didn't start the tournament off great, but they were able to work themselves into it and go on a really good run."
The U.S. has had a whirlwind of a week, coming off the controversy of the disallowed third and would be go ahead goal in the 2-2 tie against Slovenia last Friday, but the squad has come together even more to help deal with the frustration of losing two points.
"Our team spirit has always been a strong point of this team, and will continue to be the strong point" said U.S. star Landon Donovan. "In the second half the other night, we simply refused to let our World Cup end. I would say the second half was a collection of 11, 12, 13 guys who wanted to do something special."
The U.S.A. will once again be the favorite to win this match, but Algeria will be fighting for a chance to advance to the next stage as well.
"It'll be interesting to see how they approach the game", said Donovan. "They have no choice but to win, there are scenarios where we could tie and advance so their approach to the game would most likely be an aggressive approach to get a goal and win the game. But they're a team that, as much as we can watch tape and know about their players, as a team they can be unpredictable. On their day they're a very good team."
But while the U.S. is riding high on confidence after the stunning comeback to tie Slovenia, Algeria are on a confidence high of their own as well.
"This match against the United States is like a final for us", said Algerian defender Madjid Bougherra. "We've got to win it, and we're going to play with the same heart and determination."
Both teams have players who have played against each other or play with each other in leagues all across Europe including the Scottish Premier League, English Premier League, and German Bundesliga.
"When you look at their players, like I said before, they have a lot of guys who are skillful on the ball and like to get the ball in dangerous areas, run by guys or be creative in their own ways to get shots", said Bradley, who plays his club football for Borussia Monchengladbach in the German first division. "Certainly Karim (Matmour) is good at that, his ability to use his speed to run by defenders and get shots and crosses, I know that well from playing with him every week. When you look at their whole team they have a lot of different threats. (Karim) Ziani, who plays at Wolfsburg, is a creative player who can stay wide, he can come inside and find dangerous spots. Belhadj obviously coming from the left, so there's threats coming from a lot of different places."
At 4:00 P.M. local time, from the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, two squads will give their all on the soccer field for 90 minutes in an effort to stay alive in the World Cup.
But Donovan and team U.S.A. have their sights on the prize.
"On their day they're a very good team, but our clear objective is to go out and try to win the game."
-Dan Karell
