England 1 USA 1

An early goal kick-started England’s World Cup 2010, but it failed to generate substantial momentum. Before five minutes of the game had elapsed, Emile Heskey received the ball on the edge of the box – he played in Steven Gerrard who slotted deftly past Tim Howard. The half continued to be an open affair with both sides constructing some good forward moves without creating many clear chances.

England played 4-4-2, but Rooney dropped deep in search of the ball and to link with teammates. It was a satisfying performance from England in the first period and they were the better side without completely dominating. Heskey had a particularly good half, winning a substantial amount in the air. Lampard and Gerrard were assured in the centre of midfield, with the latter’s contribution incorporating both incisive movement in attacking areas and sound defensive play. The defence was generally sound with Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson assertive on the flanks – Johnson made one eye-catching run which took him to the edge of USA’s 18-yard box. The only significant US goalscoring opportunity arose from a Landon Donovan cross, from which Jozy Altidore failed to make a decent connection. But shortly before half-time, disaster struck: Gerrard failed to repel Clint Dempsey, but the US midfielder’s shot was tame and should have been dealt with easily by Robert Green. Half-time arrived with the score at one apiece.

England’s second-half also started brightly with Aaron Lennon playing Heskey through for a run at goal – but unfortunately goal-scoring isn’t in Heskey’s repertoire and he shot straight at Howard. England continued to be the better side but the win always felt slightly out of reach. Another good chance did fall to Shaun Wright-Phillips after he met Rooney’s pass in the area, but again the shot was straight at Howard. Otherwise, England’s best efforts were decent long-range strikes from Lampard and Rooney. The US did have the opportunity to take the lead when Jamie Carragher was unable to rein in strong Altidore run, but the US forward’s shot was tipped onto the near post by Green.

England were the better side and should have won this game – it was only a Robert Green howler which gifted the US an equalizer. The team generally performed well with good performances throughout the side. For all the discussion about central-midfield, Lampard and Gerrard were a resilient and influential combination. In fact it was the players at wide-midfield which disappointed slightly, with Wright-Phillips and Lennon failing to make consistent impact. There would also be concerns if Ledley King is injured: Carragher joined John Terry for the second-half and this pairing could surely be exposed by a pacy front-line.

Three points would obviously have been hugely helpful, but England did enough to suggest that they could win World Cup 2010! [Selected ratings below.]

7 Emile Heskey: A redoubtable performance as target man which included an assist for the goal. Shame about the finishing!
7 Steven Gerrard: Not quite foot perfect, but an influential presence putting in notable defensive and attacking work.
7 Glen Johnson: Had a good game defensively and always looked threatening in advanced positions.
7 Ledley King: Appeared untroubled by the US forward line. He will hopefully be fit for the next fixture.
7 Frank Lampard: Pragmatic and assured, his distribution was good.
7 Wayne Rooney: Involved in several significant attacks, but did not quite hit top gear.

6 Ashley Cole: Handled Donovan well, but less visible in attack than Johnson.
6 John Terry: A solid performance, but given the slip on one occasion by Robbie Findley in the second-half.
6 Shaun Wright-Phillips: Looked bright upon his introduction, but made few inroads down his flank.
6 Aaron Lennon: Threatened the US defence at times, but his involvement was sporadic.

5 Jamie Carragher: The manner in which Altidore evaded him to run at goal was worrying and could have led to a US winner.

4 Robert Green: One good save but also one shocking error.