That phrase couldn’t have applied more to the United States men’s soccer team on Wednesday afternoon in Pretoria, South Africa, where a single goal meant moving on in the 2010 World Cup, and a lack of one meant going home.

Through 90 minutes of regulation time, the Americans had failed to find the back of the net (at least, not officially) in its final Group C match.

Desperation had set in with just four minutes of stoppage time added as the U.S. and Algeria were battling to a scoreless stalemate. The Americans knew that a victory meant advancing out of group play and on to the single-elimination knockout bracket, but a tie or a loss would end their World Cup stay.

It even appeared for a brief moment that Algeria would be the team to finally break through with a score when a close–range header from Algerian forward Rafik Saifi (who after the match, indefensibly slapped a female Algerian reporter across the face) was on target at the 90:33 mark.

However, U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard was there to snatch Saifi’s attempt out of the air along the post to his right, and touch off the perfect counter attack, resulting in one of the most monumental goals in U.S. soccer history, just thirteen seconds later.

The winning play developed in an instant as Howard fired a terrific throw to the perfect choice –- midfielder Landon Donovan, the greatest player in U.S. national team history, who took Howard’s toss at the midfield stripe and played the ball toward the Algerian goal. Donovan passed ahead, into the Algerian goal box to forward Jozy Altidore, who had streaked along the right side. Altidore took Donovan’s feed and sent a crossing pass into the middle of the box for midfielder Clint Dempsey.

Algerian goalkeeper Rais M’Bolhi dove out to meet Altidore’s pass, deflecting it away from a charging Dempsey who tripped over M’Bolhi, before falling over the goal line. But, M’Bolhi’s attempt at snaring the ball was impeded by his own teammate, on Algerian defender Madjid Boughera’s sliding attempt to clear the ball to safety. Dempsey’s mere attempt to score was sufficient, as it helped create enough chaos to free the ball off of M’Bolhi’s hands, toward the middle of the goal box.

That’s when Donovan, the all-time leading U.S. scorer with 44 goals in 126 games, who was trailing the play the whole way, was there for the follow. He fired a shot into the low left corner of the net at 90:46, to fittingly score if not the most important, at least the most dramatic goal in U.S. soccer lore.

Donovan, the unquestioned heart and soul of the U.S. team, didn’t have a great game before lifting the U.S. to its stunning 1-0 victory. As great as he’s been over his U.S. career, Donovan has had a reputation for disappearing in big games, and he did that again for much of the second half on Wednesday. But, he more than answered those questions with some late game heroics that changed everything for the U.S.

One rebound. One shot. One goal. The difference between the U.S. (1-0-2) ending its World Cup hopes and not only advancing out of Group C, but becoming the unlikely winner of its group, ahead of clear group favorite England (1-0-2), which advanced to the knockout round as the Group C runner-up, with a 1-0 blanking of Slovenia (1-1-1) at the same time the U.S. was defeating Algeria (0-2-1). England, which lost the tiebreaker to the U.S. (scoring two goals in Group C to the four notched by the Americans), will next face Group D winner, Germany.

While there’s still much left to do for the U.S. in this year’s World Cup, Donovan’s goal already marked a good degree of significance for U.S. soccer. It wasn’t just that the U.S. captured only its second World Cup group win ever (its last was in the first World Cup, in 1930), but it was the way in which that feat was accomplished, with the resiliency, fight, and excitement that was on display throughout the three Group C games in which the U.S. competed –- all qualities which won’t exactly put soccer on the same level as major American sports like football, baseball, basketball, or ice hockey any time soon, but which figure to help the world’s most-watched sport gain popularity in the U.S. There may just be some young kids looking to be next Donovan now, instead of the next Peyton Manning or Kobe Bryant.

In its opening game against England, the U.S. rebounded from allowing a goal just 3½ minutes in, gaining a 1-1 tie aided by a lucky goal after a misplay from English goalkeeper Robert Green. In its second match, the U.S. rightfully pulled off a remarkable comeback after spotting Slovenia a 2-0 halftime lead. Donovan, as the undoubted face of U.S. soccer for nearly a decade, started that rally with a goal to cut Slovenia’s lead to 2-1. After the U.S. tied that match on a goal by Michael Bradley, the son of U.S. head coach Bob Bradley, the Americans had seemingly climbed the mountain in the second half, until rookie referee Koman Coulibaly waived off what should have been a winning goal by U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu in the 86th minute, off of a brilliant free kick into the box from Donovan.

On Wednesday, further excitement was provided and there was even more adversity for the U.S. to finally overcome.

Just 5:35 into the match, the U.S. barely survived a hard shot by Algerian forward Rafik Djebbour as it glanced off of the crossbar. At 19:53, another U.S. goal was mistakenly disallowed when Dempsey scored but was incorrectly called for being offside. Later, Altidore shot a loose ball just before Donovan, who had a better angle, could shoot from six yards out, but Altidore sailed the ball over the goal at 36:04. And, at 56:13, Dempsey bounced a shot off of the right post before missing a close follow-up shot wide to the left, two seconds later.

The tension and pressure mounted as the game wore on, with both the U.S. and Algeria each having several other chances. Knowing what was at stake, the 0-0 score didn’t deter any of the on-the-edge-of-your-seat anticipation.

And, when the main man of U.S. soccer came through with little time to spare, it was as if soccer, for at least one brief moment, became as popular in the U.S. as in the rest of the world.

That feeing is something that former President Bill Clinton is helping to continue. Clinton, who took in Wednesday’s match sitting next to FIFA President Joseph Blatter, is on the committee to help secure the U.S. as the World Cup hosts in 2018 or 2022. The former leader of the free world was impressed with how the U.S. team competed until the very end in the world’s biggest sporting event, saying “They have a good head and a good heart, collectively… and, they just kept playing.”

Similar to the way Donovan silenced his critics, the U.S. win over Algeria showed Americans back home that yes, even previously-thought boring 1-0 soccer matches can indeed be as thrilling as an NFL overtime win, a walk-off home run, or a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.

For the third straight game, the U.S. found a way. And, now we’ll get to see what Donovan and his band of Cardiac Kids can do for an encore. First up, will be a meeting with Group D runner-up, Ghana (1-1-1), which sent the U.S. home with a 2-1 victory over the U.S. in the Americans’ final game of group play in the 2006 World Cup.

For now though, it was enough for the U.S. to find one goal to further its quest of a much bigger one.

And, for at least one day back home, U.S.A. stood for Unbelievable Soccer Achievement.

1.  A Lack of Commitment to the Running Game

Take Monday night’s debacle against the Broncos. While LT’s yards per carry average was not what it has been when he’s been at his peak performance, against a good defense he was consistently picking up positive yards and moving the chains. He looked fresher and quicker than I remember him in the last two-plus seasons. He had the quickness and explosion we’ve all gotten so used to from LT.

It felt like any play he was about to break the big one. He still had 70 yards, but on only 18 carries. Imagine if he was given carries on the goal-line early in the first quarter when the Chargers settled for another field goal. Say he gets to 25 carries. He gets very close to 100 yards, and I bet breaks a big one and gets well past that mark.

But more important is the effect the commitment to the run has on the Chargers both as a team and an offense. Norv Turner apparently felt he had to call all pass plays when only down by four points with about six minutes to go in the game. When Mike Nolan, the Broncos Defensive Coordinator, figured this out he just started blitzing an overmatched Chargers offensive line. Poor Philip Rivers had no chance to find men down field because blitzers were in his face as soon as he got back in his drop.

If Turner would’ve run the ball even once or twice on that drive, the Broncos would’ve had to respect that and played a little more conservatively, thereby giving Rivers at least a chance to find an open receiver.

As a New Orleans Saints fan I’ve seen how a pass-only offense ends up working out. You may put up great numbers and score a lot of points, but it is so hit or miss that you have as many three-and-outs as you do big plays. And the ball is in the air so much you’re bound to have a lot of turnovers.

Three-and-outs and turnovers kill your own defense because it puts them in horrible field position and makes them play far more downs than they are capable of handling before they break down. Complementary football, as Sean Payton calls it, is what wins football games. Run the football, keep your defense off the field, and give your offense a chance by being unpredictable.

2.  Poor Line Play on Both Sides of the Ball

Again this is hard for anyone to question, but still bears being repeated. It is understandable why Norv Turner shies away from the running game. For the most part, they (the O-Line) have done nothing to reward his confidence in them. Since it is a little bit easier to throw the ball without great blocking, passing becomes your best option.

Part of the O-Line’s issues goes back to Pro Bowl Center Nick Hardwick’s absence. He is responsible for getting the line into its’ proper protections and adjustments. He has done this very well for a good number of years now. Without him the line is somewhat lost. Other injuries to Louis Vazquez have forced the Chargers to start two less qualified players on their O-Line for part of this season.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Chargers are greatly missing the services of two men who are now in other buildings, Igor Olshansky, now with the Cowboys, and Wayne Nunnelly, the veteran D-Line Coach who had been with the Chargers for 14 years and is now doing a wonderful job with…you guessed it the Denver Broncos.

Of course, losing All Pro Nose Tackle Jamal Williams doesn’t help matters either. The Chargers D-Line has become an undersized, minimally talented unit that for the most part does not fit the scheme the team is trying to run. Many in Charger Land are now casting blame on GM A.J. Smith for his inability to find suitable backups in case of a Jamal Williams injury or dropoff in production because of his age.

I for one, believed two years ago Kentwan Balmer, a DT out of North Carolina, would have been the perfect man to eventually replace Williams at that nose spot. Smith instead chose CB Antoine Cason, who looks like he’ll be a good player, but seemed to be less of a need pick at the time. Now the Chargers are left trying to fill a couple D-Line positions with career journeymen. Is it any wonder they are struggling to stop the run?

3.  The Approach Has Become Stale

It is not uncommon for coaches to feel as if they are no longer reaching the players on their team after ten years or so with the same team. Well, it hasn’t been nearly that long for Norv Turner, but it is reaching that amount of time for GM A.J. Smith. And under Smith, the approach has been the same. Bring in young talent, sign your core players long-term, but don’t at any cost overpay them, and only sign second-tier free agents who will make your team as backups or role players.

To be completely honest, I generally love this model. It has worked for some of the best franchises in the league, such as Pittsburgh, New England, Indianapolis, and perhaps you could include Philadelphia. But guess what? They’ve all at least been to a Super Bowl. The Chargers have not.

Players will buy into anything if it leads them to their ultimate goal. But when their ultimate goal is not being met, uneasiness and questioning begins to take place. You might say success breeds success, just as losing leads to more losing. In my opinion this has happened to the San Diego Chargers. You could see it in the First Quarter when both Tomlinson and Antonio Gates (both team leaders and core players) showed their frustration after a third down call on the goal-line.

Most people realize San Diego’s real leader is not Norv Turner. He is much more of a puppet to A.J. Smith. Turner is basically just a glorified Offensive Coordinator. Smith chose him after firing Marty Schottenheimer to keep the current offense (which again was smart), but also so he could choose his own defensive coordinator. Most organizations allow their head coach to make such a decision.

A.J. Smith is a wonderful talent evaluator, but he has worn out his welcome with his bold moves, most notably allowing Drew Brees to leave via Free Agency, although in hindsight it worked out okay because Rivers has developed nicely.

The bigger point is that the players know Norv Turner has no power, and therefore they do not respect him. And they do not respect A.J. Smith because he is a pompous, overbearing boss who is doing more than his job description entails.

If the Chargers have any chance at salvaging their season, Turner must retake hold of this team and their psyche. He must recommit to running the football, and find a way to get some production out of his lines, despite their lack of talent and size.

It is a tall order to say the least. It is unfortunate that Turner is in this position because he actually has done an okay job given the situation he’s been given. He’s fighting an uphill battle, and one very few coaching candidates now would want to be a part of. Truthfully, despite San Diego’s talent level, I would say the Chargers Head Coaching job has become one of the least attractive in the league because you are faced with A.J. Smith.

It is no secret what I think the biggest problem is in San Diego.