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26 USMNT Moments, Past to Present: Landon Donovan's Stoppage-Time Miracle
The forward’s last-gasp goal in the 2010 FIFA World Cup propels the USMNT to the knockout rounds
By: Adam Jasper
This is 26 USMNT Moments: Past to Present, a U.S. Soccer content series that covers 26 defining moments in U.S. Men's National Team history. From inspired victories to stunning goals, and the stars and hidden heroes who made them possible, each chapter reminds us that our dreams on the pitch are worth chasing. Together, they’ve built toward the biggest moment yet: the 2026 World Cup on home soil.
The greatest moment in U.S. Men’s National Team history.
It’s a superlative that carries the weight of over a century of iconic players, goals and celebrations. Landon Donovan’s stoppage-time winner against Algeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup is, in the minds of many, the undisputed selection for that honor.
That goal — scored in the 91st minute to propel the U.S. to the knockout rounds of the World Cup — is enshrined in history not just for its competitive meaning. The moment was celebrated across the States, from tiny pubs to plaza watch parties, from sea to shining sea, together in unison. Videos of those celebrations made for the USMNT’s first true viral break in the social media era, and the sport of soccer was forever impacted in the country.
It’s one of those unforgettable scenes in sports where, if you don’t get goosebumps watching it, there might be something wrong with you.
“Every year, my timeline gets blown up or people text me with the video,” Donovan said on his podcast in 2025. “It takes you back there, but that moment is hard to describe to people what that feels like, because there’s nothing else in the world that’s like that.”
To understand the monumental scope of that very moment, both at the time and for years to come, let’s take a look back at just how things unfolded on that night, June 23, 2010, in Pretoria, South Africa — and simultaneously across the globe back at home.
How they got there
The story actually starts even earlier. The USMNT had another fairly iconic fixture to set up the dramatics of the Algeria match. Facing revolutionary rivals England, the Stars and Stripes took a point in the first match of their group stage campaign as heavy underdogs. Who could forget The New York Post’s front-page headline “U.S. Wins 1-1”?
After clawing back from 2-0 down at halftime against Slovenia, only to have Maurice Edu’s certain winner called back for reasons that still pass understanding, the U.S. had two points heading into their final group stage match. Since England had drawn with Algeria, they also sat on two. Slovenia had beaten Algeria, putting them in first place with four points. It all meant the U.S. would need a win to control their destiny and advance to the knockout round.
So then came the fateful day, June 23, 2010, when the United States and Algeria would face off.
“All you can ask for, for a team like ours, is going into the third game with a chance to advance, right?” Donovan said in a 2020 ESPN interview.
The tension was too thick to separate the sides through the first 80 or so minutes, though there were plenty of chances. Algeria hit the crossbar, Clint Dempsey had a goal controversially called back for offsides, and Jozy Altidore recalled another miss that had him thinking it wasn’t their night.
“I'll never forget, there was a play where I think I'm in [on goal], and I go down the side and I cross the ball, and they sail it clear. Clint comes and opens his hips up to go far post, rings the post and it comes back, and I thought for sure he scores the rebound, and he put it over,” Altidore told ESPN. “It was a tough bounce, to be fair. It's not an easy finish. At that point, I was thinking to myself, ‘Wow, is it going to happen? We may not get through.’”
It was shaping up to be quite the harsh way to go out of the World Cup, three draws and three matches where there were chances to win. It was shaping up to be, until the 91st minute.
Tim Howard celebrates after victory that sends the USA through to the second round in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group C match between USA and Algeria at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on June 23, 2010 in Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)
How it happened
As time slipped through their fingers, the U.S. had to leave it all out there. They pushed numbers ahead.
“It’s a tennis match,” Tim Howard said on his podcast with Donovan in 2025. “No one’s defending, everyone’s sprinting, blowing a gasket trying to get back, get forward. It’s chaos.”
In the 90th minute, it looked like Algeria would have a chance to stun the world with a winner. Adlene Guedioura whipped a cross into the box, and there were two unmarked Algerian runners at the back post. Rafik Saifi was the one to get his head to it, but the ball flew harmlessly into the arms of Howard. With seconds seeping out from under them, the goalkeeper played a ball down the field almost immediately.
It was to Donovan, who had acres of green in front of him. And all of a sudden, the U.S. had runners.
The entire country watching rose to their feet. You can see it in the videos, by just staring at the crowds watching the game, you know when Donovan first breaks, when the first glimmer of hope shines in fans’ eyes. There’s that collective, inquisitive roar of anticipation.
Donovan had, to that point, already written much of his U.S. Soccer legend, but he was about to author his most compelling to date. He had multiple attackers in front of him, Altidore, Dempsey and Edson Buddle. With just two Algeria defenders far back enough to make a play, all three were viable options.
“These things happen so fast. I took my first touch, and it was a big touch, and I thought the defender was going to [close in],” Donovan said. “He started to, then he backed off. Then I took the second touch, and my thought process and my instinct was [to] get it into Jozy, and then we’re in front of the goal.”
That’s exactly what the U.S. number 10 did. All Altidore did was let the ball run for a couple of strides and immediately play a cross into Dempsey.
The striker, who would go on to be tied with Donovan for the most USMNT goals all-time, was one-on-one with a keeper who was quickly closing in on the ball. Surely, his shot would be the one to bury it and send the U.S. to the knockouts.
But it was saved. Rais M'Bolhi made a gutsy stop, and the ball trickled out to the edge of the six-yard box. Fans around the United States, and the world, sank a little.
“I thought the game was gone [there],” Howard said of the initial save.
Then came Donovan flying in. After 90 minutes of tireless running, he was finishing his full-length-of-the-pitch sprint with the wind of his nation at his back.
“It hits the goalkeeper and rolls out,” Donovan said, “and the rest is history.”
Donovan thumped the rebound into the left side of the goal, leaving no doubt that the net would be shaking the instant he put his foot through it. He sprinted to the corner flag and was immediately dogpiled by every U.S. player who ran over to celebrate.
“It’s one of the most iconic goals in U.S. Men’s [National Team] history because of the way it plays out,” Howard said. “The celebrations were bedlam.”
The USMNT celebrates Landon Donovan's winning goal that sends the USA through to the second round during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group C match between USA and Algeria at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on June 23, 2010 in Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
How the world reacted
Meanwhile, watch parties across the United States ignited. From New York City to Lincoln, Neb., from Los Angeles to Springfield, Mo., it was pandemonium in every corner of the country.
At the stadium, there were multiple calls from commentators that would be burned in the back of minds for years to come:
Ian Darke’s “GO, GO, USA!”
“FROM HOPE, THERE IS GLORY!”
And, of course, Andres Cantor’s 14-second “GOOOOOOOOL!”
The U.S. would finish top of its group — something the USMNT hadn’t done since 1930 — ahead of England on the goals-scored tiebreaker. The 2010 World Cup campaign was on the brink of being a colossal disappointment for the U.S. Now, it’s one of the most appreciated USMNT performances at the world’s tournament.
The virality of the celebrations for Donovan’s goal surely shapes that perception to this day. Just as social media was beginning to redefine how content was shared across the world, millions were able to bear witness to just how much the goal meant to Americans across the country. It got people talking about soccer in the states in a way never previously seen.
Donovan recalled watching some of the reactions to his goal the day after he scored it with a U.S. Soccer staff member.
“We sat down and we watched the video, and we were both just crying,” Donovan said. “We couldn’t believe that people at home were experiencing soccer in that way.”
The support from dedicated fans, ones who grew up hoping for moments just like the one they were experiencing, wasn’t at all surprising that day. What was shocking, though, was how many new fans found their flame for soccer.
“I never would’ve imagined,” Donovan said. “It gives you the sense of power and pride for your country. A lot of those people weren’t soccer fans. They were after that day.”
