Well, it came and went - the biggest soccer game in the history of the United States. The USA drew 1-1 with the mother country in the biggest battle since 1776. The game featured a well taken goal from Steven Gerrard early on and a memorable reply thanks to Clint Dempsey due in large part to one of the all-time great goalie gaffes from Robert Green. We learned a lot about both countries from that game, and now both the USA and England have one point in Group C. So, let's take a look at 5 Things We Learned from USA-England.
1) We Can Play With The Big Boys
-Yes, the USA was exposed at certain times by the speed of Aaron Lennon, the skill of Steven Gerrard, and the fierceness of Wayne Rooney - but we never looked to be out of the game, or entirely outclassed. With Tim Howard between the pipes, Onyewu and the backline playing strong, and athleticism up front - the USA has established in the past 2 years that this group of players doesn't only compete, but can beat anybody in the world. While Dempsey's goal was pure luck, the US created good chances and defended strong for much of the game and went toe to toe with one of the world giants. Whether the British tabloids want to believe it or not, a draw was a just result.
2) England Ain't All It's Cracked Up To Be
-World Cup fans have heard this before. England comes into a tournament with a talented team. The English media proclaim that this is their year. England fans get excited about their chances. England lets down those fans with new ways to shock and disappoint their fans. We'll get into Robert Green's goof in just a bit - but the entire England team didn't have the look of a title contender. While Stevie G played inspired football for most of the game, his other teammates couldn't put it together. Lennon and SWP had great speed on the wings but couldn't play a telling cross. King and Carragher showed injury, age, and a lack of athleticism at the back. Rooney and Heskey couldn't put the ball in the net. So much talent for England's golden generation and yet they may come up empty yet again.
3) Goalie Gaffes
-Robert Green's botched save off of a nothing shot from Clint Dempsey was one of the all-time memorable World Cup gaffes. Give him credit for coming back and getting a clutch save on a Jozy Altidore breakaway in the second half - but he might never live down what happened in the 40th minute. Let the pictures tell the story...
4) The USA Needs More Offensive Fireworks
-Even though we played well in this game, it was clear that the United States lacked a little creativity offensively. A majority of the offense consisted of long balls forward to Jozy Altidore and hoping that going the direct route would pay off. Rarely was the US able to string passes together through the midfield and actually build an attack. Dempsey and Donovan appeared dangerous at times, but there wasn't enough wide play from them to provide a diversity to the attack. Perhaps adding Jose Francisco Torres to the midfield in place of one of the holding players or perhaps trying Buddle/Gomez with Altidore could shake things up just enough to supply more goals against Slovenia and Algeria.
5) Soccer Is Definitely Making It in the USA
-The USA/England game was the highest rated USA soccer game in the states since 1994 (when the US hosted the World Cup), and the 5th highest WC game in history. Almost 13 million people watched the game! You can see more ratings stats at EPL talk. Perhaps more encouraging is that ratings for the entire tournament are up over 100% since the last World Cup. ESPN's in-depth coverage with veteran, informed broadcasters (we'll get to that later this week) has been fantastic and the commitment to the tournament and providing the best possible coverage has improved World Cup viewing immensely. Viewers are clearly taking notice and tuning in to the World Cup at what could be record numbers. Learn to love it, learn to love with it - soccer has arrived.
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