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United States grabs 1-1 draw with England in World Cup opener

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photo by Joe Toth/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

It may have only been a draw, but for the U.S. national team, the 1-1 tie it posted against England surely felt like a victory.

After giving up an early goal to Steven Gerrard, the United States pulled level in the 40th minute when Robert Green fumbled a Clint Dempsey shot into his own net.

The draw wasn't just a result of luck. Tim Howard put forth his latest incredible performance, saving several shots, including a couple from close range.

The defense also impressed, as it played an organized game against England's talented group of attackers. Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes for the first time since injuring his patellar tendon last October.

Not all was perfect, though. England got off to a great start in the 4th minute when Emile Heskey played a through ball to Gerrard, who finished easily from close range after losing Ricardo Clark with a well-timed run.

The U.S. team responded with multiple opportunities, including headers from Onyewu and Jozy Altidore, but none were directed towards goal.

Things looked to take a turn for the worse for the underdogs, however, when Howard went down in pain after a collision with Heskey. Howard received medical attention for a few minutes before staying in the game.

The Americans then equalized when Dempsey created space against Gerrard and unleashed a shot from 25 yards out. While it looked like a routine ball, Green mishandled it and watched in agony as it slowly rolled into the back of the net.

Altidore almost put the U.S team ahead in the second half when he rounded Jamie Carragher and saw his shot saved by Green before it bounced off the post.

The U.S. attack cooled down towards the latter parts of the second half, but the defense continued to play physically, giving Rooney a hard time to leave his mark on the game. The solid defensive play, combined with huge saves from Howard, saw the U.S. team pull out a point as England threw numbers forward in the waning moments.

The draw not only puts the Americans in prime position to advance out of Group C, it also gives the United States a 1-0-1 record against England in World Cup play.

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What do you think of the United States' draw with England? Impressed by the team's performance? Confident it will get out of the group stage?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Never thought the U.S. could pull out a draw…I thought we were going to lose 2-0 or 2-1…When Stevie G put England up 1-0 early on I thought the U.S. were heading for a ugly first game lost like we suffered against the Czech’s four years back, but the U.S. hanged on and got a BIG GIFT from Green right before the half…That goal was huge because England had all the momentum going into halftime, but Dempsey took it all away in a second…In the second half the U.S. kept on battling, but was only able to create one good chance…I would’ve love to see how the game would’ve turned out if Altidore’s shot didn’t come off the post…No doubt England were the better side, but I was surprised that they didn’t create much danger…I mean they have two classy midfielders and a superstar forward and they failed to create much…Also credit to the U.S. backline for shutting down Rooney…He was the one player I feared the most, but the U.S. kept him in their back pocket all night long…With this result I’m fully confident that the U.S. could win their last two group games and maybe even finish first which would be fantasic because after watching Germany’s performance yesterday I really don’t want to play them in the Round of 16 lol

    LETS GO USA

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  2. The American Boys all played so well except..Clark Bradley must have a problem with Edu, or maybe Edu is not 100%. Clark left his mark (Gerard) to watch the ball inside 20 yards, (what could he be thinking.) Clark was late to react(anticapate)numerous times he let Lampard go to Guich and watched (what could he be thinking) as Guich barely caught up and made a great defensive save late in the match.

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  3. ok. so you don’t think he had a bad game, let me see, he lost his man, we got scored. he missed in coverage in 2 of 3 chances that england had a good chance to score. he was invicible through most of the game. He hurt us then settle to his usual self…low key position defender, is that the best we could hope for when we have better able bodies in the bench?

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  4. Easy for you to say.

    Obviously you didn’t watch the game. Jozy would have won the game for us late with a little luck. There was no need for subs; they would have disrupted what was happening and we could have easily lost. Our guys weren’t flagging the English were; if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

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  5. “WHY DOES COACH BRADLEY HAVE SO MUCH FAITH IN ALTIDORE?”

    Because, if you were watching the game, Jozy would have won the game for us if Green hadn’t completely used his quota of bad luck for the day.

    Reply

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