There are positives to be gained from the U.S. national team’s 1-1 draw with England, but it’s hardly surprising, really, that some serious question marks remain.
This was the result that was both realistic and really helpful. Expecting to exact revenge for 1950 was far too lofty of a goal even though had Jozy Altidore converted, it might very well have happened. But Clint Dempsey and his teammates were rescued by Robert Green’s howler in the 40th minute, and until that moment all they showed was that after four years spent preparing to avoid the same mistakes that they did in the 2006 World Cup, they made the same mistake that they did to open the 2006 World Cup.
Still, not too bad from the U.S. defense. Facing an imposing attack, Oguchi Onyewu put to rest any doubts about his fitness, returning to form with a solid performance, and Jay DeMerit was strong for most of the match, too. Wayne Rooney wasn’t a presence until the second half, and Frank Lampard didn’t have nearly the effect on the game that the English would’ve hoped for.
Tim Howard was his imposing self – and opposite Green, it’s pretty sweet that the U.S. doesn’t have to worry, that is, if Howard can stay healthy – but the English finishing was terrible. Both Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips had golden chances in the second half, and neither was able to anything more than hit the ball directly at the American goalkeeper. Perhaps Howard’s reputation with Everton carried over to South Africa?
How much was the U.S. buoyed by England head coach Fabio Capello’s decision to start Heskey over Peter Crouch? For all of the Italian coaching mastermind’s abilities, he botched that decision as well as the one to start James Milner, who had been ill much of last week. It’s water under the bridge, but Wright-Phillips might’ve been a tad more effective had he played from the opening whistle.
There were significant stretches in the both halves where the U.S. went toe-to-toe with England, playing with confidence and drive. Given how they started, the turnaround was significant. But U.S. head coach Bob Bradley does not escape from this match without scrutiny. Countless stories have been written of late about how he’s been driven from the moment he was hired at the end of 2006 to produce results at the World Cup. Yet, Robbie Findley, who played well in one match – a send-off friendly against Turkey – and missed a pair of sitters against lowly Australia, was in the starting eleven. Oh, he was fast. But he was also pretty much nothing but fast while Edson “I can’t be stopped in 2010” Buddle was left on the bench with Heruclez “They call me the Super Sub” Gomez. One, we need to see a comparison of 40-yard dash times, and two, winning World Cup soccer requires more than sprinting.
Did Ricardo Clark solidify a starting spot during the last three U.S. matches before the World Cup? The U.S. looked great with Maurice Edu against the Czech Republic in Hartford. The U.S. looked even better with José Torres after he replaced Clark against Turkey in Philadelphia. And Clark was transparent vs. Australia last weekend. It should come as no surprise that he got caught ball watching and let Steven Gerrard escape from him for England’s goal. Regardless of his tenacity and rugged ball-winning, his inclusion in the starting eleven seems to completely ignore the performances he has produced.
Still, the U.S. managed did what at least the English thought was unthinkable, and that is a solid first step to getting out of the group. The question is, can they take another step forward without relying on good fortune – because it will run out.
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