Donovan: Ref's Bad Call Will Up Interest in U.S.
London Donovan thinks the controversial decision by a referee to disallow a U.S. goal will serve to increase interest when the United States plays Algeria on Wednesday.
The Americans would advance to the second round with a victory over the Desert Foxes and they could advance with a tie, depending on what England does.
The decision by referee Koman Coulibaly of Mali to call off a Maurice Edu goal left the U.S. with a 2-2 tie against Slovenia on Friday, sparking outrage in the United States.
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"I think we've all been pretty well informed as to response back home via text, e-mail, phone calls, Facebook etc., Internet," Donovan said Monday. "In some ways it's really heartening to see how much people care. And the one thing we do know is that Wednesday night, or Wednesday morning in the States, is going to a be a really big occasion and we relish that because we don't get that very often. We know people are talking about it and people care."
Donovan said players were frustrated with the decision, but were now looking ahead to the Algerians. The Americans had rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit.
"If you can put yourself in that moment and how much energy we put in to getting ourselves back in the game and how emotional it is to go from the realization your World Cup might be over to had that goal been allowed, we would have been very close to advancing," he said. "We all understand the reality of it. We've all played in enough games where those things happen and through the course of your career they tend to even out. So a lot of us have been on the good side of something like that, and unfortunately this time we were on the bad side of something like that. It happens. You get on with it. There's absolutely nothing we can do about it right now, so we focus on Wednesday."
Donovan thinks adversity will help the team come together even more for its first-round finale.
"Being down 2-0 with your World Cup on the line is a difficult and daunting task to overcome," he said, "but the way we've been hardened in a lot of ways over the years has made that possible and I think we're extremely excited for Wednesday."
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On Sunday, Clint Dempsey said Coulibaly encouraged rough play in the penalty area by failing to whistle infractions early in the game.
"Before the tournament, they told us that any type of holding on corners is a penalty, any type of grabbing around a player is a penalty. So when we get to the game, that's not what's going on," he said. "So you have to adapt."
Some speculated the whistle was because Dempsey pushed Andraz Kirm as Donovan took the kick.
"That's the one set piece where I'm probably not mixing it up with somebody," Dempsey said. "I acted like I was going to go in. I came back, and went around to the far post, and if Mo had missed the ball, I would have had the goal. So if you freeze-frame that play, three of our guys are in a head lock. So to single me out, that that's a play that I caused trouble on, I don't think you're really watching the game. But saying that, probably there were plays where I did mix up it during the game, on other plays. But on that one, for sure not."
Dempsey thought Coulibaly's inaction led to increased pushing and shoving.
"The ref in this game was letting things go in the box, so you've got to be physical," he said. "If someone has your arms around you, I'm not going to sit there and be like, `OK, this is fine.' I'm going to try to bust out of it and get in position to score a goal. So if the ref is letting that type of play go on, that's how you're going to play. If the ref is calling it tight, well then you're not going to do that. So you going to have to gauge how the ref is calling it and what you can do and what you can't do, and you have to adapt."
Coulibaly worked as the fourth official in Italy's 1-1 draw with New Zealand on Sunday.
Dempsey is prepared for rough games off what he faces during the season with Fulham.
"That's something you get used to playing in the Premiership, playing against teams like Stoke, Blackburn, Bolton," he said. "Just typical teams that have strong players in the back."
The Americans (0-0-2) are second in Group C with two points, trailing Slovenia (1-0-1) and ahead of England (0-0-2) on goals scored going into Wednesday's first-round finale against Algeria (0-1-1). The U.S. would advance with a win and possibly with a draw.
Goalkeeper Tom Howard believes the Americans have kept their emotions in check but are prepared for physical play.
"If tackles start flying in and we need to stand up for ourselves, you best believe we will," he said. "We always have, and that's not something that this team takes lightly. We stand up for each other. We stand up for ourselves."