June 12, 2010, 9:55 AM
By JEFF Z. KLEIN
The United States gets a historic result, a 1-1 draw with England to open the 2010 World Cup for both sides. Steven Gerrard opened the scoring in the fourth minute, but the Americans equalized on one of the craziest goals in World Cup history.
England keeper Robert Green allowed Clint Dempsey’s 25-yard shot to slip through his hands — a stop Green would have made another 200 straight times before fumbling it again — and across the line in the 40th minute to tie the score.
Both teams came close in an often thrilling second half, with England getting the majority of the chances. But the Americans held fast — led by a near-flawless performance by defender Steve Cherundolo, who touched the ball more than any other U.S. player. American keeper Tim Howard was also helped when two England forwards, Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips, shot right into his hands.
Now the Americans are over their biggest hurdle and face more manageable foes, Algeria and Slovenia, in their bid to advance. But remember 2006, when the United States drew with Italy, but lost to Ghana and the Czech Republic.
Look below to see how the whole thing unfolded.
And here's Clint Dempsey's equalizer:
No comments:
Post a Comment