England and USA kicked off their World Cup campaigns tonight as the teams regarded as the top two in the Group. A win for either would have therefore surely cemented their place in the next stage but this one ended 1-1 with some surprising outcomes.
Gerrard opened the scoring for England with just four minutes gone, slipping a shot past Howard after some neat and slick passing, but Dempsey fired the USA level with their first shot of the game which bobbled straight to the Goalkeeper Green who somehow managed to let it slip through his fingers; a Goalkeeper nightmare to add to the many historical World Cup blunders.
England should have taken the lead in the second half when both Heskey and Wright-Phillips failed to convert in one-on-one situations and Green redeemed himself when the ball came his way for the second time in the match, pushing a tight angled shot against the woodwork.
A point a piece at the end in a game where England failed to convert a number of chances, but both sides will walk away from this confident that they can advance through to the next stage.
