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FIFA World Cup 2010 match 5 - Group C England: Green, Johnson, A.Cole, Terry, King (Carragher 45), Gerrard, Lennon, Lampard, Milner, (Wright-Phillips 30), Rooney, Heskey (Crouch 79). USA: Howard, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Cherundolo, DeMerit, Bradley, Dempsey, Clark, Donovan, Altidore (Holden 86), Findley (Buddle 77). England's World Cup campaign began with a bang as they opened the scoring after just four minutes against America. A throw in from the right was pushed towards the box by Frank Lampard beyond the intended target Rooney but into the path of Emile Heskey who squared a sweet reverse ball into the path of Steven Gerrard, cutting in from the right, and the new England captain produced a clinical finish with the outside of his right foot beyond Tim Howard. This goal provided the nation with an early opportunity to see if England under Fabio Capello would be any different to England under Sven Goran Eriksson after taking the lead in a major finals. Unfortunately the answer was basically no as England looked mainly content to sit back on their advantage rather than trying to extend it. As usual England looked uncomfortable in defending their lead, however, and there was more than a hint of fragility throughout the team. The most obvious weakness was James Milner who had been deemed fit enough to play after illness but who was well off the pace and America were able to pose a consistent threat down England's left side. Altidore escaped Ledley King when Donovan sent over a peach of a centre from that flank but headed wide when he should have scored. On the other side of the pitch Lennon had the beating of his full back but there was a lack of conviction to some of his play and this was most evident when Heskey and Rooney combined to send him clear to the right of goal. From the position where Theo Walcott scored his hat trick in Croatia the Tottenham winger eventually opted to square the ball but could not pick out any of the three teammates in support. Milner finally picked up a booking for another foul on Cherundolo, who was supposed to be marking him, and Onyewu sent a header wide of the mark from a good position when Donovan whipped in the free kick. Milner made his one positive contribution after staying back at a set piece as he sent a fine ball down the line to Johnson who found himself in space as the Americans pushed out and his low ball in was a good one but Howard was able to parry clear as Heskey slid in, taking a painful blow to the body as he did so. It was not long before Capello decided that Milner was proving too much of a liability, however, and he hauled the Aston Villa man off in somewhat humiliating fashion half an hour into the contest. It was truly depressing to see Shaun Wright-Phillips coming on rather than Joey Cole though. With England struggling to achieve any rhythm or order in their play it would have been hoped that the clever assurance of Cole would have been preferred to the manic dashes of Wright-Phillips, especially as he would be playing on the wrong flank. America remained the side generally pushing forward but the partnership of Terry and King at the heart of the England defence appeared to be gaining in authority and any efforts on goal were coming from distance. Donovan had Green scrambling unconvincingly to his right with one specualtive attempt that flashed wide before the England goalkeeper gifted the States an equaliser with a truly awful blunder. Clint Dempsey did well to turn away from the attentions of Gerrard but his low shot from twenty five yards was not particularly well hit and straight at the keeper. Somehow Green managed to guide the ball into the net with both palms, however. A lot has been said about the new ball being used at this World Cup but this incident was all about bad goalkeeping, not bad footballs. Straight from the restart Glen Johnson got forward well to send in a low effort that Howard held securely but half time came with the sides level. Half Time: England 1 USA 1 There was more depressing news for England before the second half had even started. Ledley King did not appear after damaging his groin in the first half and Jamie Carragher was the man to replace him. This change did give Capello the chance to see for himself that Carragher is simply not good enough for international football. I hope he noticed and acts accordingly. There was a feeling that both sides could score during the second half with England probably looking the more likely in general but their best chance fell to Heskey and the centre forward predictably failed to finish and blotted an otherwise good performance. Lennon produced a lovely first time ball to send him clear of the defence but with time to pick his spot Heskey shot straight at Howard and the chance was gone. Howard was also happy that a stinging left footed drive by Lampard was straight above his head and he tipped the ball safely over his crossbar. America's best moment of the second half came when Altidore surged past Carragher, whose crude defending had already brought a booking and therefore prevented him from using his usual tactic of wrestling his man to the floor, and drove deep into the box from the left hand side for a shot that Green did well to tip onto the post. Gerrard whipped a cracking centre in from the right which the subdued Rooney could not quite climb high enough to head properly before the pair combined to give Wright-Phillips a clear shooting chance inside the box to the left of goal. Not surprisingly the attempt was poor, straight at Howard and at a perfect height for the keeper and was in stark contrast to the lovely finish Joe Cole had provided to a similar move in England's final warm up game a few days earlier. England pushed forward eagerly in the final minutes but were unable to create any more clear openings and ended up having to settle for a point. Obviously this is not a disaster from what appears to be our toughest group game but several important issues remain to be resolved by Capello. England's chances of progressing to the last eight or further depend on him coming up with adequate solutions, something the England manager was unable to do here. Full Time: England 1 USA 1 England Ratings: Green 4, Johnson 7, A.Cole 7, Terry 6, King 6 (Carragher 4), Gerrard 7, Lennon 6, Lampard 6, Milner 4, (Wright-Phillips 5), Rooney 6, Heskey 8 (Crouch 5). USA: Howard 8, Bocanegra 5, Onyewu 7, Cherundolo 7, DeMerit 6, Bradley 6, Dempsey 7, Clark 5, Donovan 7, Altidore 6, Findley 5 (Buddle 5). Referee: Carlos Eugenio Simon (Brazil) 7 Good: Ivanhoe Heskey's lovely ball to set up Gerrard's goal. Bad: Emily Heskeys' finish when sent clear by Lennon. Ugly: Jamie Carragher's lack of pace. And ability.
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