The most anticipated game of the first round ended in what will likely be an incredible disappointment for the English team. Maybe it was the USA’s new Nike designed away jerseys that gave them the magic they needed – Personally, we thought they looked a bit like beauty pageant contestants but if they’re winning I guess their prissy looking uniforms shouldn’t matter in the scheme of things..
What we expected?
A controversial intense match between England and US – With a hype already surrounding Carlos Eugenios Simon, head referee who was recently banned from the Brazilian league for suspect calls and “questionable intentions” we figured there was going to be massive pressure for Simon to do his job… the way he’s supposed to.
While England does have a team filled with talent, USA introduced their most talented team ever to the 2010 World Cup this year. We expect to see some great things from Dempsey and Donovan at the tournament this year. It goes without saying that we expect England multi-talented heavy weight soccer champion Wayne Rooney to lead the team to quite a few victories this year.
First Half
First half kicked into high gear when four minutes out of the gate Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard kicks a beautiful goal passed Tim Howard after an assist from Heskey. This of course was very much what we expected.
The US follows this goal with three corner kicks in a row and doesn’t do anything with any of them. They even came very close around the 20th minute when Altidore missed a header by Donavan. Again, this was very much what we expected.
A couple of yellow cards later (one for England James Milner and the next for US’s Steven Cherundelo) things just got ridiculous. .. Clint Dempsey did the impossible and became the second American to score in two World Cups.
That’s right.. US scored against England — Very much not expected.
And to make matters worse, the goal was just miserable. Green looked as if he had it, but wasn’t enough behind the ball to really stop its force and in slow miserable we watched as Green realized what he had just done…
It will be VERY surprising if Green plays the next game. This just seemed like a schoolboy’s mistake, what one British spokesman called “Soccer Helter-skelter”.
What we did enjoy seeing was how Dempsey, New England Revolution star, raised his eyes and give a kiss towards heaven, a gesture he makes every game in memory of his older sister who died at age 16. Every team needs a story – and that one made Dempsey our personal MVP of the game.
Second Half
When the second half started we were hoping for a monstrous push from the England side – and a new focused Green. At the fifty first minutes, we thought they had it. Emile Heskey made his way to the green, passed Onyewu, and gave the ball a powerful strike towards Tim Howard. A suckerpunched Heskey looks sullen as Howard stops the ball with throws it back confidence and ease.
The second half was painted in yellow as more cards were handed out – One to Gerrard for what looked like a dangerous cleat jab into Dempsey’s left thigh in the 61 minute mark and one to Findley for another spiked foot attack a minute earlier.
Around the 70th minute, a flurry of excitement rang through the stands as Rooney nearly score. A minute later Wright-Phillips gives a powerful kick and almost makes it again, But instead another yellow card was handed out to Findley for a challenge to Gerrard.
As the game drew to a close Dempsey and Donavan begin to look ragged and at the 89th minute Donovan gives it all he has with a long shot that soared passed the bar. Surprisingly, England was not able to gain possession of the ball and US ended the game with full control over the ball.
We thought we had this game licked, but this was our first big surprise of the World Cup. We can’t wait to see if US can keep this going and Dempsey can come out of this World Cup as America’s new soccer superstar.
What’s Next?
We can’t wait to see whether or not Green will remain as England’s goal keeper or if Capello will swap him with David James… Find out when England and Algeria meet head to head at 2:15pm ET of the same day. Dempsey is back in action with the rest of the USA against June 18 at 9:15am ET.
“Dempsey, New England Revolution star”
Most of the world knows Dempsey as the Fulham FC star, known for a wonder strike that sent his team to a European final for the first time ever, and another that was a candidate for the English Premier League Goal of the Year.
And the real Man of the Match was Tim Howard, the regular goalkeeper for Everton and a past recipient of the EPL Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper. He also has a League Cup and an FA Cup medal in his trophy case.
Our two standout players in this match were the two most well-known Americans in England, which is probably a testament to how important it is to play top-level competition.
Awww Green literally DROP THE BALL, wayda Fail…but hey it hapens. Not to be a jerk but the US got lucky