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RUSTENBURG, South Africa The United States held England to a 1-1 draw in the World Cup Group C opener Saturday, with a stunning blunder by English goalkeeper Robert Green costing his team victory.
An apparently harmless 25-meter (yard) left-foot shot from Clint Dempsey in the 40th minute went straight at Green but the ball bounced off his right glove and trickled over the line for an equalizer.
Its one of those that you see and people say, How come that never happens to me, Dempsey said. Finally, its a goal that probably the keeper should have made a save on. They all count the same when they go in.
Green seemed confident he wouldnt be scarred by it.
It was a mistake. The important thing is not to let it affect you, Green was quoted as saying. That is what you prepare for mentally. You dont prepare mentally for making great saves and playing the perfect game. You prepare for trauma.
It wont affect me psychologically.
England captain Steven Gerrard had given England the lead in the fourth, charging into the area and shooting with the outside of his foot past Tim Howard for his 17th international goal.
England, pursuing its first World Cup title since 1966, created more chances but the Americans held firm under pressure with a string of saves from Howard, who was voted player of the match.
It was a difficult game, Gerrard said. I think the important thing in the first game is not to lose.
Greens error brought looks of dismay from English fans who were a majority in the sellout crowd of more than 38,000 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.
But England manager Fabio Capello refused to censure his goalkeeper, publicly at least.
He made one mistake but in the second half he also made a good save, Capello told a news conference. This is football. The most important thing is the score at the end of the game.
Gerrard saw Greens error as the games turning point. Unfortunately weve let a poor goal in and we couldnt go on and get the winner, he said. The goal shocked us a bit. ... It took us a while to get over it.
England won nine of its 10 qualifying games to secure a spot in South Africa but in warmup games ahead of the tournament it recorded a series of uninspired performances.
At the final whistle, American fans applauded and waved their flags as their team came over to greet them, while the English supporters stood mostly in silence after their team filed off the field with heads bowed.
Our first game is still about getting something, but when you go behind early, I thought the response was good, US coach Bob Bradley said. I think after the goal, we started to put some plays together and built up confidence.
Bradley commended his players on holding their own against the more favored England team.
It was a fast, hard game and we were pleased with the way our midfield was able to compete with England, he said.
Greens slip recalled a similar mistake by Scott Carson against Croatia which denied England a place at the 2008 European Championship.
The goalkeeping position has long been Englands weakest link. Paul Robinson, who started at the 2006 World Cup, lost his place after a series of errors. David James was on the bench in Rustenburg despite his nickname Calamity.
Dempsey became only the second American to score in two World Cups. He also scored in the 2006 tournament.
At least we got a point, thats the positive, Dempsey said. Weve got to go out and win these next two games.
Both countries can still claim one of the groups top two places and advance to the next round. The other two teams in the group, Algeria and Slovenia, play Sunday. Both are regarded as weaker teams than England or the US. - AP
