By Daniel Kelley

( OFFICIAL ONELOVE U.S. CORESPONDENT)

The most anticipated match of the tournament thus far has come and gone.  England vs. USA was one for the ages, and will go down in both USA and English soccer history.  After a stunning opening strike from Steven Gerrard, England drew first blood and looked set to break American hearts.  Clint Dempsey however, was having none of it and scored what will be one of the most talked about goals in world cup history.

Only Robert Green will ever know what really happened, but his handling of Clint Dempsey’s shot was the howler of all howlers.  A shot that most keepers would have stopped with ease somehow got past Green and gave the Americans a most surprising lifeline.  Blame it on Green or blame it on the much talked about Jabulani ball, the goal stunned England and brought the Americans to life.  It was a hard fought game for the Americans, and if the world didn’t think this team could compete with the world’s best they saw first hand today that they most definitely can.  Thanks to an amazing display from Tim Howard and the back four, Steve Cherundolo in particular, USA played resiliently and came back from an early goal to get a much deserved point.

Player Ratings:

Tim Howard (G)-9- Was a rock in the goal today, an absolutely brilliant performance from Timmy Howard.  Time and time again thwarted England’s vicious attacks on goal and made some brilliant saves.  Emile Heskey will be having nightmares about Howard’s point blank stop on his shot.

Jay DeMerit (D)-8- After a moment of poor communication between him and Onyewu for the opener, DeMerit put on a great defensive display and effectively helped shut down Rooney.  The pride of Wisconsin wore his heart on his sleeve and played a great game today.

Oguchi Onyewu (D)-7- Sort of a surprise starter due to his lengthy injury and forgettable play in friendly matches leading up to this game.  Was caught ball watching on the opening goal but seemed to come to life afterwards.  Gooch started to look like his old self today, no longer afraid to jump for balls and threw himself into some hard tackles.  Gooch is back…well maybe.

Carlos Bocanegra (D)-6.5- Had a hard time dealing with the pace of the speedy England wingers at times. Still put on solid display and should be happy with his overall performance tonight.

Steve Cherundolo (D)-8- Absolutely fantastic game from the right back tonight.  Was an ever present threat in the attack and defended very well.  Made mince meat out of James Milner.

Ricardo Clark (M)-6- Forgot he was on the field at times.  Got the job done but never really put his mark on the game.  Would have liked to have seen a more creative midfielder like Torres or Feilhaber in his place.

Michael Bradley (M)-6.5- Much like Clark had a fairly anonymous game.  Still though he put in the dirty work in the middle of the field and had a solid game.

Clint Dempsey (M)-7- Wowzers.  What a goal and what a horrible howler from West Ham’s Robert Green.  This is a goal that will be talked about for many years to come. Dempsey made something out of nothing, got his goal and ran with it. Bad save, bad keeping, bad whatever the goal was clutch and allowed team USA to get a share of the points on the day.

Landon Donovan (M)-7- A Landon Donovan performance on the wing that we have all come to expect from our little internationally unknown superstar.  Donovan worked very hard today and had a good battle with Ashley Cole.  Also had some nice set pieces that his teammates should have done better on.

Jozy Altidore (F)-7- Worked hard and ran all over the place the whole game.  Was unlucky not to get a goal in the second half when Robert “Stone Hands” Green pushed his effort off the post.  Also had a great moment where he out muscled Jaime Carragher on a run towards the goal.  Needs to start making all that hard work turn into goals.

Robbie Findley (F)-4- Looked completely out of place. The only player on team USA who didn’t look like they belonged in the game. He was there for his speed and nothing else, and unfortunately all he really seemed to do was aimlessly run really fast.  Just about completely faded out of the game in the second half. Time to give Buddle or Herculez a chance up top.

Substitutes:

Edson Buddle (F)-4- Came into the game late and had very little impact.

Stuart Holden (M)-4.5- Replaced Altidore and came on bolster the midfield.

Tags: Clint Dempsey, Daniel kelley, England, Landon Donovan, ONELOVE, ONELOVE FC, Tim Howard, U.S. National Team

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