How the U.S. Can Advance

The United States’ 2-2 tie against Slovenia on Friday was both inspiring and heartbreaking—inspiring because the U.S. climbed out of a 2-0 hole, but heartbreaking because it had a third goal taken away by a horrible officiating call. Still, the team is in a good position to advance to the next round of the World Cup. After England and Algeria’s 0-0 tie on Friday, the U.S. will automatically advance if it defeats Algeria on Tuesday; if it loses, the U.S. will be bounced from the tournament. In case of a tie with Algeria, things get tricky: If the U.S. ties Algeria and Slovenia beats England when they play on Tuesday, then the U.S. will move on; if the U.S. ties Algeria and England beats Slovenia, the U.S. is out; if both games end up ties, it will come down to a tiebreaker—in which case, the U.S. will be in a good position to move on, since it will be determined by the overall number of goals scored and the U.S. has currently outscored England three to one. Still, there’s a chance that, in case of a tiebreaker, it could come down to something as random as drawing lots.