UNITED STATES STUNS ENGLAND

In the end, Robert Green did not blame the much-criticized World Cup ball or the wet grass at night or the short hop that bounced dreadfully off his gloves. He could blame only himself. “It’s obviously a horrible mistake, a terrible mistake,” Green, England’s goalkeeper, said. “I’ll have to recover from it.” His stunning error in the 40th minute led to a Clint Dempsey goal and a 1-1 tie for the United States in its World Cup opener on Saturday. The result put the Americans in heartening position to advance to the second round with group matches remaining against Slovenia and Algeria. Even if the United States was a bit lucky, it earned the result. After conceding a goal from a lapse in concentration in the fourth minute, the resilient Americans played sturdy defense with a suddenly cohesive back line that left England’s top striker, Wayne Rooney, frustrated and inconsequential. The Americans also received steadfast goalkeeping from Tim Howard, who was as resolute with bruised ribs as Green was stunningly yielding. “The result is terrific,” United States midfielder Landon Donovan said. “A few of us were talking about how we’re a little disappointed that we didn’t play better with the ball, didn’t maybe find a way to win the game. Maybe another day we do. I think all things considered, playing one of the best teams in the world, getting a point out of the first game is a big plus.” The United States did not get a victory, as it did against England 60 years ago in the World Cup, but it got the next best thing. Nine of the 23 the Americans played their recent club seasons in England, giving them a familiarity and confidence that became evident after another maddeningly vulnerable moment in the early minutes of a World Cup opener. In 2006, the United States surrendered a goal to Jan Koller of the Czech Republic in the fifth minute of a 3-0 loss. On Saturday night, it was the fourth minute. After an England throw-in, midfielder Frank Lampard pushed the ball to forward Emile Heskey, who does not score often but provides value by making space for others. He eluded Jay DeMerit and sliced a pass to Steven Gerrard, who knifed into the penalty area ahead of a momentarily inattentive Ricardo Clark. That loss of concentration was costly. Gerrard sprinted free and pushed the ball into the net from 10 yards with the outside of his right foot, past the diving Howard. After the Koller goal four years ago, Donovan said he felt a sense of futility, of “Oh, no.” Saturday night was different. He said he was confident his team would come back. It did, but not before the Americans had another scare in the 30th minute, this one regarding Howard’s health. As Heskey chased a cross in the penalty area, Howard charged off his line, only to have Heskey slide into his ribs, studs up. Howard writhed on the turf at Royal Bafokeng Stadium, and it was unclear if he would be able to continue. “He had every right to go for that ball, the same as I did,” Howard said. “Initially, I was in a lot of pain. I was going to give myself 5 or 10 minutes to get through it. I felt a lot of discomfort.” A cortisone shot at halftime helped “a little bit,” Howard said. Green, too, could have used something to numb the pain of a nightmarish moment that occurred five minutes before intermission. Twenty-five yards from goal, Dempsey spun to his left, then to his right, separating himself from Gerrard. He fired a left-footed shot that seemed harmless enough. It bounced once, then twice and should have been easily fielded by Green on one knee. But as Green went to scoop the ball, it seemed to short-hop him and skidded off his gloves. Green turned to his right and dived desperately, hoping to redeem his mistake and rescue a save, but the ball rolled slowly, agonizingly over the goal line. Somehow the game was tied. Many of the World Cup goalkeepers criticized the official Adidas ball before the tournament, saying it flew erratically and was difficult to control. “This ball’s doing silly things,” Howard said. “Unfortunately, at this level, those things happen. I feel terribly for him, but with goalkeeping, you have to have broad shoulders.” Gerrard called Dempsey’s shot “a freak goal,” and said England had to rally around Green. This was only his 11th appearance for his country, and there could not have been a worse time for his usual consistency to desert him. But something strange was bound to happen with the new ball, Donovan said. “This ball is crazy,” Donovan said. “Especially at altitude, especially when it’s wet, it’s very difficult for goalies. There’s going to be in this tournament a lot of goals that are freaky like that. You feel bad for Robert Green, but that’s why you put the ball on goal.” As the ball crossed the line, Dempsey turned away to celebrate, then hesitated. “Wait a minute?” he said he asked himself. “Did the ref say it was a goal or not?” Finally, Dempsey saw the linesman running back toward midfield, flag down. He had become the only American other than Brian McBride to score in two World Cups. “To be fair, he probably should have done better with it,” Dempsey said of Green. “But at the same time, these balls move everywhere; they’re tough to deal with.” Entering the match, the most urgent question for the United States was the sturdiness of its back line. Oguchi Onyewu had not played a full 90 minutes in eight months, since rupturing the patellar tendon in his left knee. But he seemed to grow more comfortable and assertive as the game went on. DeMerit played with the same scrappiness that he exhibited against Spain last June in the Confederations Cup. Steve Cherundolo and Carlos Bocanegra were also insistent in not letting attackers get behind them. Michael Bradley was often disruptive, dropping deep in midfield. It was a characteristic American effort, full of resolve instead of beauty, with defenders hustling, sliding, diving, heading away crosses, not giving Rooney many touches on the ball or space to operate. “That’s the only way you can make his day difficult,” DeMerit said. “If you let a player like that turn and run at you, you’re going to have a long day.” All that hard work also brought a little bit of good fortune with a goalkeeping mistake. “You put shots on target,” DeMerit said, “sometimes they go in.” (Chicago Tribune)