All you need to know about the American fan presence in South Africa is that in a World Cup match played in Africa, the United States had just as much fan support as North African side Algeria. U.S. coach Bob Bradley and several players admitted that the sight of South African streets being lined by American fans before the game made an emotional impact on the team, and the squad responded by delivering one of the most exciting and important victories in American soccer history.

Bob Bradley has always seemed to fall short of getting the credit he deserves as U.S. national team coach, but leading the team to first place in World Cup Group C, and doing so by making tough lineup changes and substitutions, as well as tough roster decisions, shows just how important he has been to the success of this team. When you look at the camaraderie, heart and toughness shown by the United States, you have to tip your cap to the coach who helped shape such a solid team.

There isn’t a U.S. national team player who has faced more criticism in the past year than Bornstein, and when he was announced as a starter on Wednesday, there was real concern among fans and media about whether he would crumble in a big match. All Bornstein did was play an outstanding match at left back. His positioning was sound and his speed helped keep Algerian right winger Foued Kadir in check.

His struggles in Europe have been well-documented, and though he still hasn’t scored a goal in the World Cup, Altidore has played a role in two of the biggest goals of the tournament. Along with being a part of the sequence that led to Donovan’s winning goal, Altidore was a handful for Algeria all day, drawing fouls and yellow cards and setting up several dangerous free kicks. He may just be 20, but has really blossomed as a player this tournament, and he has arguably been one of this World Cup’s best young players.

The memories of his disappointing performance in the 2006 World Cup haunted Landon Donovan for years, but his game-winning goal against Algeria will go down as his most important goal and the second clutch goal he has scored this tournament. His goal against Slovenia was crucial, but he started the sequence that eventually ended with his 93rd minute goal. Donovan has matured considerably and has fully embraced the role of the team’s star player. Now it will be fun to see what he can do in the knockout rounds.

The U.S. men’s national team delivered the most dramatic and arguably the most important victory in its history on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory against Algeria that helped the Americans win Group C and reach the World Cup Round of 16.

There were plenty of standout performances for the Americans, and plenty of storylines, but here are five things we learned from Wednesday’s historic match according to Ives Galarcep ...