Not 1950, But It'll Have To Do

The match last night, though statistically a bit in England's favor, has to speak well for the U.S. and this edition of the FIFA World Cup. An earlier goal, when a midfield gap allowed captain Steve Gerrard to split the center of the U.S. defense and give his team the lead, seemed at the time to be a bad omen.

The home team continued to apply pressure through the first 30 minutes of the opening half, and a well-taken bicycle shot by Frank Lampard was a sign of the Brits' early confidence and composure in the attack.

Areas critical in keeping the score where it was at 1-0, though, were the U.S. team's chemistry, mental strength, and fitness coming into play to give the Americans a chance to equalize. The other factor was the U.S.'s ability to contain the always-dangerous Wayne Rooney, England's PFA Player of the Year, and scorer of 34 goals for his Manchester United club during the 2009-10 season.

One early sign the U.S. was in this match for the duration was their unity from the initial walkout, and during the national anthem. This is not a fragile team, with a number of players having excellent resumes', despite many being a bit young for this stage, especially against England, one of the tournament's oldest, most experienced sides.

The U.S. persevered through it all, including a scary scene in the first half, when it appeared veteran (though this was his first World Cup start) goalkeeper Tim Howard might have to leave the match following a full-speed collision with England forward Emile Heskey. Howard toughed it out, however, and came up big with a couple of excellent saves in the second half, keeping the team, on the strength Clint Dempsey's equalizer (admittedly aided by a grievous goalkeeping error from the English netminder) in position for the critical point from opening match of Group Play.

During it all, the minority fans in the red, white, and blue, maintained their support, making themselves a factor in the scene at Royal Bafokeng stadium. I particularly liked the several signs and t-shirts, which simply read: 1776, 1812, 1950, 2010. It's the thought after all, that counts. And that thought, and vocal support was acknowledged by the U.S. team after the match.

The result wasn't what it could've been (either way), but as evidenced in last night's post, England's goalkeeper redeemed himself by getting just enough of a touch on Jozy Altidore's late, potential match-winning shot, to push it into the post, instead of the net, into which it was bound for glory.

The comments of Fabio Capello after the match made this a quite satisfying draw, and the one point earned may well be critical in advancement into the knockout stage of the tournament. Capello's sour expression as the referee signaled full time makes an American's heart warm. Speaking of making hearts warm, yes ladies, that is David Beckham on the bench to the left. I walked out of the stadium literally right next to him. (You may now insert your swoon)......

 

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