With a unexpected gift from England’s goalkeeper Robert Green, the United States managed to gain some valuable points from the first game of Group C in South Africa. Green lost the ball from his hands, practically giving away the draw to the United States and England never recovered from the shock while facing a discipline, serious, and very well prepared US team during their first World Cup 2010 game.
England’s right-off-the-bench full offensive game paid up, and the Three Lions opened the score with just four minutes in: Emile Heskey made an excellent assist to Steven Gerrard that had absolutely no problem scoring the goal with a right foot shot. The quick goal did not slow down the United States, but England’s very well set-up defence left little room for team USA to come close and threaten. England kept pressuring and lost a couple of good chances with Aaron Lennon and Frank Lampard.
And while Fabio Capello’s players thought they would finish the first half without even sweating, Robert Green’s mistake turned the entire game upside down: after a weak outside shot from Clint Dempsey Green lost the ball from his own hands and just watched it roll inside the back of the net.
England tried to come back in the game during the second half and had the ball possession for the biggest part of the game. But it was the United Sates that had the biggest chance to finish the game when Jozy Altidore’s shot hit the post in the 55th minute. For the rest of the game England kept trying hard to score the winning goal, but clearly the players were under a lot of stress unable to do anything of value against a very well read United States defence.
