In what turned into the battle of the goalkeepers, the United States should be happy with the 1-1 result against England in Rustenburg on Saturday. After confusion in the US defense, Steven Gerrard made it 1-0 England just four minutes in. The United States would get that goal back in unusual circumstances. US midfielder Clint Dempsey struck from distance in the 40th minute. Surprise starting England keeper Robert Green bobbled the shot into the back of his net for the unlikely equalizer.
“I think that play started with a throw-in, the ball went back to Lampard and we stepped up to close him down," US coach Bob Bradley said. "Next thing you know, there’s a big hole in our back line. When you use the word manage, the ability to control certain situations and not over-commit, I think England made us pay. But it forced us to get ourselves going into the game very quickly after that because there’s no more time to play your way in, you’re already down a goal.”
For his part, Green was positive when speaking to the BBC following the game, saying: "I'm sure there's 50-odd million people disappointed with me. But I'll come back, work hard and it won't affect me. I want to carry on playing and I want to stand up and represent my country."
Both teams had chances in the second-half, with US keeper Tim Howard making a big save in the 54th minute and US forward Jozy Altidore's attempt hitting the woodwork in the 66th. The United States kept the pressure up throughout the final 45 minutes, even with England sending multiple players forward in search of a winner. The US defense held, and they were able to get the better looks late in the game.
“We weren’t particularly sharp early on, as you saw," Howard said. "We weren’t tight, especially on the goal. I don’t know at the start if it was nerves or what have you, but we responded. We knew we could respond well and once we calmed down and got into the flow of the game I thought we did well. Defensively we did our job, it was backs to the wall and overall it wasn’t pretty. They were always going to have their fair share of possession, but we defended, made some saves. Guys were diving in and we were just trying to stay organized, but I’m happy overall.”
Match: United States vs. England
Date: June 12, 2010
Competition: FIFA World Cup
Venue: Royal Bafokeng Stadium – Rustenburg
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. local time
Attendance: 38,646
Weather: Clear and cool, 57 degrees Fahrenheit
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 0 1
ENG 1 0 1
ENG – Steven Gerrard (Emile Heskey) 4th minute
USA – Clint Dempsey 40
Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 2-Steve Cherundolo, 15-Jay DeMerit, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.); 10-Landon Donovan,13 -Ricardo Clark, 4-Michael Bradley, 8-Clint Dempsey; 20-Robbie Findley (14-Edson Buddle, 77), 17-Jozy Altidore (11-Stuart Holden, 86)
Subs not used: 6-Jonathan Spector, 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 9-Herculez Gomez, 12-Jonathan Bornstein, 16-Jose Torres, 18-Brad Guzan, 19-Maurice Edu, 21-Clarence Goodson, 22-Benny Feilhaber, 23-Marcus Hahnemann
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
ENG: 12-Robert Green; 2-Glen Johnson, 6-John Terry, 20-Ledley King (18-Jamie Carragher, 46), 3-Ashley Cole; 7-Aaron Lennon, 8-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard (capt.), 16-James Milner (Shaun Wright-Phillips, 31); 10-Wayne Rooney, 21-Emile Heskey (9-Peter Crouch, 79)
Subs not used: 1-David James, 5-Michael Dawson, 11-Joe Cole, 13-Stephen Warnock, 14-Gareth Barry, 15-Matthew Upson, 19-Jermain Defoe, 22-Michael Carrick, 23-Joe Hart
Head Coach: Fabio Capello
Stats Summary: USA / ENG
Shots: 10 / 14
Saves: 6 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 6
Fouls: 11 / 12
Offside: 3 / 5
Misconduct Summary:
ENG – James Milner (caution) 26th minute
USA – Steve Cherundolo (caution) 39
USA – Jay DeMerit (caution) 47
ENG – Jamie Carragher (caution) 60
ENG – Steven Gerrard (caution) 61
USA – Robbie Findley (caution) 74
Officials:
Referee: Carlos Simon (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Altemir Hausmann (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Braatz (BRA)
Fourth Official: Eddy Maillet (SEY)
