Just as South Africa opened their World Cup with a goal that will be remembered forever, so England, as is their wont, contrived to open theirs with a goalkeeping blunder that will never be forgotten. No sooner had Fabio Capello placed his confidence in Robert Green than his judgment was mocked by the sort of bungle no professional footballer can comfortably watch, an unforced error that allowed the United States back into a game on which England appeared to have a comfortable grip after Steven Gerrard's early goal.
While Green will inevitably carry the can for this disappointment, in truth it was not a great England performance, just a great start. The American goal may have been a fluke, yet it came about because England were defending too deep and allowing their opponents to take pot shots. Far too little was seen of England's attacking players – Capello even turned to Peter Crouch before the end – to place all the blame on the goalkeeper.
"Sometimes defenders make mistakes, sometimes keepers make mistakes," said Capello said. "The ball moves a lot. In the second half Robert Green played very well, but the mistake remains a mistake. We played a good match, created chances, but the result was not OK. We can play better." Tim Howard, the USA goalkeeper, said: "These things happen, even at this level. Rob made a couple of good saves as well. I feel terribly for him but goalkeepers always need broad shoulders."
Capello denied that keeping everyone guessing about his line-up right up to the last minute had affected his goalkeeper's preparation. The team sheet, when it arrived, contained no real surprises once it was understood that the Italian was not about to mess around with the system and selections that had proved so successful in qualifying on the basis of late claims made in inconsequential friendlies. So Green retained his place as goalkeeper after all, just as Capello had promised.
James Milner, who has consistently appeared in competitive games for Capello, was preferred on the left wing to Joe Cole, who has not. And Emile Heskey, on the back of three Premier League goals last season, was invited to resume as Wayne Rooney's gofer. Capello is a systematic man, not one for whims or popular clamour. What has worked before could work again and should at least be given the opportunity before new designs are ushered in. It may well turn out to be the case that England's most dynamic attacking option is Gerrard playing just behind Rooney but it can wait until either desperation or occasion demands it.
The plan half worked. The wisdom of Capello's approach was amply demonstrated after four minutes, which was all it took for Gerrard to celebrate his elevation to the captaincy with the opening goal. And the architect was none other than Heskey, who transformed a nondescript situation following a throw-in on the right with a decisive reverse pass that left his captain the relatively straightforward task of jabbing a low shot past the exposed Howard with the outside of his right boot. So in effect England enjoyed the best of both worlds. Gerrard gets forward as a de facto second striker anyway and Heskey not only justified his inclusion but proved he is not there just for Rooney's benefit.
Sadly England seldom do things the easy way and all their initial promise was undone five minutes before the interval by a goalkeeping howler to end all howlers. England had withdrawn into their shell with the luxury of an early lead, allowing the Americans to pin them back in their own half. Not too much harm came of it at first, the only real worry for Green was a Landon Donovan cross that a better touch from Jozy Altidore or any contact by Clint Dempsey might have turned into a goal, though a timely interception by Ledley King was necessary a few moments later to prevent Altidore's pass reaching Robbie Findley.
But if the USA were not producing too much to trouble the opposition defence, then neither were England. Rooney was conspicuously quiet, struggling to get into the game or even to get hold of the ball, and there were signs of an old problem returning with Gerrard and Frank Lampard being pushed back too deep and the front two becoming isolated as a result. Capello introduced Shaun Wright-Phillips after half an hour, possibly to alleviate the problem but more likely because Milner, who had just been booked for a foul on Steve Cherundolo, was some way below his best after illness.
They should have been able to make it to half-time without mishap but, even though Dempsey's optimistic shot from a few yards outside the area resembled a backpass more than a threat, Green managed to wave it into the back of his net. He had the shot covered, one knee on the floor and body behind the ball in textbook fashion, yet he simply allowed it to bounce off his gloves and spin behind him. It was a horribly embarrassing moment and Green looked horribly embarrassed. Capello just looked horrified.
England's problems worsened at half-time when King failed to appear for the second half, meaning a second of Capello's judgment calls may have gone wrong. The defender has an abductor problem and will not be fit for Algeria on Friday. At least Capello was brave enough to leave Green on, though at the rate his players were dropping out he probably wished to keep a substitute in reserve. The coach must hardly have been able to watch when Carragher was booked after 13 minutes on the pitch for catching Findley late, closely followed by Gerrard for a foul on Dempsey.
Aaron Lennon and Rooney briefly threatened in the second half, though when the former's pass produced a clear chance for Heskey, he all too predictably shot straight at the goalkeeper. Suddenly England were looking at the worst of all worlds and were distinctly lucky to survive when Altidore saw a shot pushed on to a post after his pace had exposed Carragher. The defender would have been dismissed had he fouled his man and was relieved to see Green make a decent save. When Rooney failed to climb high enough to reach Gerrard's promising cross England must have felt it was not going to be their day, the more so when Wright-Phillips then Rooney hit shots straight at Howard. Shooting at the goalkeeper is a policy that only ever seems to pay off for England's opponents.
Fans' network members have their say
Alan Fisher, tottenhamonmymind.wordpress.com, England
So much for Capello's new focus and sense of purpose – here was the soul-sappingly familiar tale of England flattering to deceive. Early promise subsided into muddling mediocrity until a final flourish almost fooled us into thinking we might actually score. Green's pathetic mistake could shatter his career, never mind his tournament, but the game was really up when we lostrelinquished control after the initial euphoria wore off and poor passing and possession let the USA back into the game and we were fortunate Altadore carried on where he left off at Hull last season. Gerrard was England's best player but like Cole and Rooney stayed too deep for too long. Rooney was wasted in a static central role. Heskey was a fine target man but it was pointless bringing on Crouch if he had no support. Johnson had a good second half but his attacking forays exposed Carragher's lack of pace. The USA defended strongly in their box but gave us plenty of room in midfield in the second half. They had the best chances until our final desperate push. The best part of the World Cup is always the glorious wave of unifying optimism before a ball is kicked. Back to reality – England to stagger into the next phase.
Marks out of 10 Green 3; Johnson 7, King 6 (Carragher 46 5), Terry 6, Cole 6; Lennon 6, Lampard 6, Gerrard 7, Milner 4 (Wright-Phillips 30 6); Rooney 6, Heskey 7 (Crouch 79 6)
Jordan Acker, twitter.com/JAcker2L, USA
What a result there from USA. Bob Bradley should take his team to Vegas, because we have some luck. I never anticipated we'd get that result. Just incredible. We were totally outplayed and England deserved all three points. Not sure if we were any good but England were a touch better. My USA player of the match was... Rob Green. He gifted us a point. But the US defence, especially Tim Howard, were great. Hard not to put him as my man of the match. As for the referee, some of his decisions were... interesting. There were a couple of offside calls against England that were awful. But England have no one to blame but themselves. As for USA, we got exactly what we needed. And on to Slovenia with a lucky but hard-earned result. After this it's hard to see us not going through.
Marks out of 10 Howard 9; Gooch 7, DeMerit 7, Cherundulo 6, Bocanegra 7; Clarke 5 Bradley 6 Donovan 6 Dempsey 7; Altidore 5 (Holden 86 5)Findley 6 (Buddle 77 5)
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion