‘Go, go, USA!' - Landon Donovan’s dramatic winner against Algeria at the 2010 World Cup was American soccer's first defining moment

With two points from two matches, the U.S. entered the group finale knowing exactly what it had to do. The game, played in Pretoria on June 23, began chaotically. Algeria struck the crossbar within the opening minutes, nearly putting the U.S. in a familiar early hole.

However, after that scare, the Americans seized control. Clint Dempsey led wave after wave of attacks, having a goal disallowed for offside, smashing the post, and missing a huge chance that left the game somehow still scoreless.

As time ticked toward 90 minutes, so did the USMNT’s World Cup hopes.

“They were going out of the World Cup,” play-by-play announcer Ian Darke told Fox Sports. “The 90 minutes were up. I recall thinking that when Tim Howard got the ball, this really was the last chance. They couldn’t do it. It was one of those stories that was almost too far-fetched.”

And yet, the match still had one more twist waiting.

It cannot be lost in all of this: Howard deserves his credit. Without him, Donovan's magic moment never happens. Without him, we wouldn't be talking about the USMNT's 2010 World Cup run 15 years later.

"What people don’t realize about that game is that for the last 10-or-so minutes, we as the five attacking players basically abandoned our defensive responsibility," Donovan told the Athletic. "Tim knew that a bunch of us were, for lack of a better term, just cheating up the field."

Milliseconds after making a point-blank save, Howard showed his savvy. The USMNT goalkeeper immediately snatched the ball and threw it 50 yards upfield, throwing it so quickly that broadcast cameras didn't actually catch it.

Suddenly, the camera panned to find a streaking Donovan, who began to make a run towards Algeria's goal before sliding a pass to Altidore. The USMNT striker centered a pass to Dempsey, whose shot was parried away by goalkeeper Rais M'bolhi. He didn't parry it far enough, though. A streaking Donovan, who never stopped his run, pounced on the loose ball. The rest is history.

"It was just fast enough, so I didn’t have to think about it," Donovan said. "If it were any slower, you really start to think about it. It was in that zone where it’s really just instinct rather than debating where you want to put it. It was right in that sweet spot."

"Go, go, USA!" shouted Darke, a call that would forever become attached to the broadcaster, Donovan, and the USMNT. The emotion on the field was easy to see as teammates dogpiled on the goalscorer in the corner. They'd won the game in the final moments. Their World Cup wouldn't end against Algeria, and they knew that the moment Donovan smashed his shot right into the back of the net.

What they didn't know, though, was what that meant to folks back home. As it turns out, it meant a whole lot.

A quick YouTube search of 'Landon Donovan Algeria' presents a variety of results. The top result, though, has never changed. It's a video that has become as famous as the goal itself for showcasing a moment in time and what that moment meant to so many.

The video, posted by user Kitchel221c30, has amassed over 5.5 million views. Posted two days after Donovan's goal, it was a compilation of reactions from throughout the United States. All these years later, the comments are still flooded with viewers saying that the video gave them chills, both when it was released and even now, 15 years after the fact.

YouTube commenters aren't the only ones. Just days after his goal, Donovan, too, was shown the video. It opened his eyes to a fact that he always believed but now knew was true: his country really cared.

"The next morning after the goal," Donovan told the U.S. Soccer Podcast, "we walked into the media hub center for U.S. Soccer, one of the rooms in the lodge we were staying at, and I was walking by at breakfast and [U.S Soccer Director of Communications] Michael Kammarman grabbed me and said, 'You have to see this.'

"Again, this is in 2010, so social media was not the way it was, the internet was not the way it was, and we were on the other side of the world, so we're not really connected to what was going on back home.

"We sat down, and we watched the video, and we were both just crying because we couldn't believe that people at home were experiencing soccer in that way. I never would have imagined.

"It gives you the sense of power and pride for your country because a lot of those people were not soccer fans. They were after that day, but they weren't soccer fans going into it, but they were experiencing it just the way we were. We were on the field, but they were experiencing it the same way, going through the same emotions."

For many, that experience was a turning point. As Donovan said, many people became soccer fans that day, and they haven't looked back.

On the day of that Algeria game, current Vancouver Whitecaps star and U.S. international Sebastian Berhalter and the rest of his family made what he called "an executive decision". He'd skip school that day and miss a school play to watch that game. Too much was on the line to miss out, of course, and, ultimately, Berhalter's decision to watch the USMNT was rewarded, wasn't it?

"I remember being like, 'I can't believe this happened,'" Berhalter told MLS's official website from USMNT camp. "It sparked a lot for me, honestly. Growing up, to have that feeling, it was something pretty special. It was the most memorable, especially growing up."

Now, 15 years later, that then-nine-year-old boy is a USMNT midfielder himself, one with his own World Cup dreams, but Berhalter isn't alone. There were many nine-year-olds who fell in love with soccer that day. There were some 30-year-olds, some 40-year-olds, and some 70-year-olds, too. Donovan's goal was one that, in a way, transcended sports and became something bigger.

It's why all these years later, players like Berhalter reflect on it. It's why, all these years later, it's still right there among the most-discussed moments in American soccer history. And it's why, at the end of the day, we still can't quite pin down the goal's true impact, largely because it's one that still continues to inspire to this day.

That is Donovan's true legacy. Forget the trophies, accolades, and stats and look deeper. On that day in South Africa, Donovan inspired a nation and, even now, 15 years later, the nation continues to talk about where they were when they saw it, whether that reaction was captured on video or not.