The Cardiac Kids strike again!!

Oh my, this is heart-stopping stuff.

With US World Cup dreams three minutes from being quashed, captain Landon Donovan scored a brilliant game-winning goal against Algeria, sending the US through to the round of 16.

It was breathtaking. It was drama of the highest order. It was well-deserved for a team that refuses to give up, even when it appears all hope is lost.

No one deserved to score more than Donovan. He personifies what makes the World Cup so magical. After struggling to make an impact in his first two World Cups, Donovan has finally become the player and leader we all hoped he would become. When the ball deflected to him in the box in the 91st minute, he struck it with authority into the back of the net. Had he not scored, the US would've been out of the Cup. Instead, the US won Group C over England!

I don't know how far this team can go, but there's no denying its spirit. In qualifying, the US scored NINE goals in the 86th minute or later. No other team had even half that many late goals. It's the mark of a group that believes in itself utterly, and as we've seen at other moments in American sports history, that kind of belief can take you a long way.

Miracle On Grass, anyone?

As I've watched the World Cup, I've tried to discern which qualities make the difference between winning and losing on such a dramatic stage. This moment for the US reveals many of them.

So many times already in these games, players have blown their chance for glory. Yes, misses will happen, but good grief, there have been some egregious ones. Yesterday, a Nigerian player astonishingly missed a wide open net two feet from the goal. It would've sent the Nigerians through. Instead, they are going home. The day before, a Swiss player muffed a similar golden chance at drawing level with Chile.

I've thought about my own life, and how I've responded to moments of great stress or pressure. Early in my career as a broadcaster, I remember times when I would completely choke. A live talk show would suddenly become an embarrassing disaster. A TV live shot would fall apart because I panicked when I needed to remain calm. Even on the soccer field, I recall many easy chances that went begging.

I realized that I wasn't prepared to deal with crunch time. I was passively expecting everything to turn out okay, and that didn't cut it. I learned to look three steps ahead and anticipate what might be coming at me. What will I do if this happens? It made all the difference, and it gave me great confidence and composure when it counted.

I see this happening at the World Cup with so many lost chances. These players aren't thinking about what they might do if the ball came to them right now. They aren't visualizing a positive result. They aren't ready to shoulder the moment.

Donovan showed what happens when you are prepared.

Part of this is coaching. Ivory Coast, for example, hired its coach just before the World Cup, paid a bunch of money for a name. That never works out. The teams that are doing well at this Cup have been playing for some time under their coaches. They've learned discipline and preparation. They are ready for what's coming. You can see it on the pitch.

Anyway, if you haven't gotten on board with the World Cup yet, there's still time! But you're missing out, I promise you. That US game was as exciting as it gets in sports. Go US!