USA draws with England in teams’ World Cup opener.
England goalkeeper Robert Green watches a mishandled 25-yard shot from USA midfielder Clint Dempsey trickle into his net. England and the U.S. drew, 1-1.
Opening the World Cup with its biggest match of the group stage, the United States drew 1-1 with England, giving both teams one point. The result gives Slovenia and Algeria a chance to lead Group C with a win tomorrow.
Robert Green highlighted the island nation’s deficiency at the goalkeeping position when he deflected Clint Dempsey’s low, 25-yard shot behind him and to his right, spilling what should have been a routine save across the line in the 40th minute, bringing the score to 1-1 just before halftime.
Green’s blunder canceled out Steven Gerrard’s early opener. The Liverpool midfielder latched on to a neat layoff from Emile Heskey in the fifth minute and placed the ball just out of USA goalkeeper Tim Howard’s reach to his left.
England’s talisman, forward Wayne Rooney, was kept quiet for most of the game by the American defense. It wasn’t until about the 65th minute that Rooney began getting noticeably involved in the match, but even then his best chance was a shot from 35 yards that went wide of Howard’s far post.
The USA defense struggled against England right back Glen Johson’s forward runs for most of the match. Johnson spent more of the match attacking than defending, and he sent dangerous crosses through the penalty area regularly.
But it was the United States that had the best chance to win the game. Forward Jozy Altidore shrugged off second-half substitute Jamie Carragher on the left side, then drove toward goal and fired a hard shot at Green’s near post. The England goalkeeper got a hand to the ball but pushed it backward, knocking the ball off the inside of the post. Unfortunately for the USA, the ball rebounded away from the net and back into the penalty area, and England’s defense cleared the danger.
U.S. manager Bob Bradley appeared to have an opportunity to change the game when England manager Fabio Capello used his second of three substitutes at the beginning of the second half. Left midfielder James Milner, reported to be ill in the days before the match, came off with about 15 minutes remaining in the first half, and oft-inured center back Ledley King was withdrawn in favor of Carragher to start the second half.
Bradley, however, didn’t use any substitutes until Edson Buddle replaced Robbie Findley with less than 20 minutes to go. The center of the U.S. midfield was a defensive setup from the start, with Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark paired together. While they were effective in keeping England’s attack out of the center of the pitch, they weren’t able to start any for the USA, either.
The U.S. defense was alternately shaky and solid, beginning with Gerrard’s early goal. Center back Jay DeMerit allowed Heskey to step in front of him and make the layoff to Gerrard, and Oguchi Onyewu lost Gerrard on his run through. On the right, Steve Cherundolo was solid for the most part, keeping the speedy Shaun Wright-Phillips from hurting the U.S. Over on the left, Carlos Bocanegra was usually outnumbered and outpaced by Johnson and Aaron Lennon and dove in or was beaten a couple times, but it didn’t cost the U.S.
The United States’ biggest problem against England was being unable to link passes together and make a strong attack. Dempsey and Landon Donovan were just about stranded on the flanks with little service from the middle. Most of the balls to Altidore and Findley came from the back or wide midfield.
It’s hard to say whether Bob Bradley started playing for a draw when England proved to have little attacking bite, but that’s how it seemed with his low-risk substitutions late in the match. A few minutes after Buddle came in, Stuart Holden replaced Altidore (who may have been bothered by his ankle), and the manager’s third substitution – Herculez Gomez for Dempsey – was denied by the referee because it was near the end of added time.
If the USA was killing off this game for a guaranteed point, that’s OK. England is on notice now. Slovenia and Algeria are going to be hard-pressed to take any more points away from them. The U.S., however, can’t take that attitude with either of those opponents. Bob has got to start going for victories now. When the USA plays Slovenia Friday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN, he won’t be able to be so conservative should the game be tied late. For the USA to get out of Group C, it’s got to pick up three points from one of the two remaining matches, preferably both.
Notes:
Despite having 51 caps for the national team, Howard made his World Cup debut in this match.
Rooney had no touches in the penalty area for the first 70 minutes of the match.
Five players received yellow cards in the match: England’s James Milner (dissent) and Carragher (reckless challenge), and the United States’ Cherundolo (reckless challenge), Jay DeMerit (unsporting conduct) and Findley (reckless challenge).
