FIFA World Cup - page 684

Winner: Draw
Score: England(1) vs USA(1)
4′ Steven Gerrard (England)
41′ Dempsey (USA)

Recap

England was supposed to win this game given their exposure, skills, and experience in World Cup. The last time USA came close giving England a competitive game was around 5 decades ago.

England did not disappoint when Steven Gerrard scored a goal with just 4 minutes into the game. England continued to attack aggressively and look poised to score another goal. Wright-Phillips run the field smoothly with Ashley Cole while Rooney at the receiving end had a number of chances at the goal.

USA had a chance to score when Donovan delivered the ball accurately towards the head of the Oguchi Onyewu but the header went past the goal.

What looks like to be a long game for USA suddenly turned around when England goalkeeper made a key mistake allowing the shot of Dempsey from the top of the box roll off his hands into the goal.

The second half had a series of runs from both England and USA but the closes chance came when Altidore had a breakaway shot from the left inside box when England goalkeeper Green made the beautiful save. It was a redeeming move for Green.

Key Takeaway

This is a very bad result for England who came in heavily favored but failed to get 3 points off USA. Algeria and Slovenia are happy campers who are hoping to get ahead of the pack with a win on Sunday. England showed fluidity running the offense but any of them could not finish off with another goal. England should have scored at least 2 goals in the game.