What began as a match England thought an easy start to the World Cup ended with an American upset.
In the England vs. U.S. match last Saturday, England took an early lead, scoring its first goal less than five minutes into the cup opener.
That got the Americans up and moving. Their hold on the ball and the game grew as the timer ran on, and the testing of the now infamous English goal keeper Robert Green began. America sent several attempts the keeper’s way that couldn’t seem to make it into the goal, repeatedly going wide.
Just when the American’s couldn’t seem to catch a break, their luck kicked in. Clint Dempsy shot what should have been an easy save toward Green, right into the goalie’s waiting hands before going right back out of them and rolling into the goal.
Green’s self-confessed huge mistake kept England trying – and failing – to play catch-up the remainder of the game.
It was a pretty impressive finish for the American side, considering the fact that England has one World Cup under its belt from 1966, as well as appearances in five more cups overall than America.
The 1-1 tie to the England/America game wasn’t all that different from an overall weekend of low scoring and tied play. The opener of South Africa vs. Mexico ended in a tie and the only team to score more than two points was Germany.
Next up for the Americans is Slovenia on Friday. Fresh off a win against Algeria in its opener, Slovenia is in only its second World Cup. It might be the smallest country in the cup, but it’s ready to rumble. Gametime is at 10 a.m. on Friday.
