Yesterday, with time melting away, Landon Donovan raced into the Algerian penalty area and took his shot. It was one shot, his only shot on target for the day. But it was enough; he slotted it into the net to give the USA the win – for the game, and also for the group.

Winning the group might be reflexive for the world's soccer powerhouses, but the USA had not achieved it since the advent of colour television. Twenty years ago, the US had been almost ceremonial competition for the likes of Czechoslovakia and Austria. Twelve years ago, they lost to assorted semi-professionals from Iran. And now, they stand atop their group and are through to the last 16.

Look no further than Major League Soccer. It's easy to poke fun at MLS, when people bother to consider it at all. Bear in mind, however, that the man on the horse found it easy to laugh at the man trying to push his Ford Model A out of a muddy ditch. While no one would argue that MLS has advanced as significantly as the automobile, there has nonetheless been serious progress.

By giving American players a place to play professionally, MLS would in turn serve as a springboard to the world at large. A gifted young goalkeeper named Tim Howard signed with MetroStars (now known as New York Red Bulls) in 1998, and his tenure would see him win the league's top goalkeeping honour in 2001 before he signed for Manchester United in 2003. Now he plays for Everton, of course, where Donovan enjoyed a successful loan spell last season.

The league's approach to talent allocation – the SuperDraft – would send Clint Dempsey to the New England Revolution in 2004. There, Dempsey would develop his diverse skill set to the point where Fulham came calling. Dempsey's move to the Premier League – from New England to Old England, if you will – culminated in an appearance in the Europa League final. It's difficult to imagine Fulham finding Dempsey at a college in South Carolina.

Major League Soccer would also operate as a destination for explosive young talent. Gifted athletes such as Jozy Altidore might have turned to other sports without MLS, just as many skilled US teenagers did in the wilderness years. If you can make a living through your athletic ability, trying to prove yourself overseas becomes a serious life gamble. Being embraced by a professional league in your home country transforms that gamble into a project. And other teenagers would find MLS as a useful incubator – such as Michael Bradley, who ran to the final whistle against Algeria in the style of his playing hero, Roy Keane.

The league wasn't merely a launching pad. In the case of Donovan, it was more of a lifeboat. Donovan had bypassed the MLS experience altogether to play in Germany. Thrown into the deep end, he found it difficult to keep his head above water. Thankfully, he had a Fifa-recognised league back in the States waiting to take him in. In MLS, he had a chance to mature as a player and as a man; rather than disappear into history as a curio, the American would-be striker who had a cup of coffee in the Bundesliga.

MLS has a lot of work to do. It's much better at developing talent rather than spectacle, the officiating is frequently controversial, and the question of bringing in weathered stars from overseas still lingers. However, the foundation for success has been laid – the same foundation that led to Donovan's one shot, and the celebrations it begat.