U.S. EARNS A 1-1 DRAW AGAINST ENGLAND TO OPEN PLAY IN THE 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP 

• Dempsey Becomes Second U.S. Player in History to Score in Two World Cups
• Tim Howard Shines in World Cup Debut to Help USA Earn Valuable Point in First Match of Group C
• U.S. Continues Group C Action vs. Slovenia on Friday in Johannesburg and vs. Algeria in Tshwane/Pretoria on June 23

 RUSTENBURG, South Africa (June 12, 2010) - In one of the most anticipated games in U.S. Soccer history, the U.S. Men's National Team opened play in the 2010 FIFA World Cup with an intense 1-1 draw with England in Rustenburg, South Africa. The match was played in front of a spirited crowd of 38,646 fans at Royal Bafokeng Stadium and featured a fourth minute goal from England ’s Steven Gerrard and a 40th minute strike from U.S. midfielder Clint Dempsey.

The result temporarily puts the USA and England atop Group C, where play will continue on Sunday with Algeria and Slovenia kicking off their first match in Polokwane at 1:30 p.m. local time (7:30 a.m. ET).

The U.S. had a number of inspired performances during the match, with goalkeeper Tim Howard leading the way. Appearing in the first World Cup game of his career, the 31-year-old veteran earned ussoccer.com Man of the Match honors by handling every foray into the penalty area with steady decision-making and sure hands, helping to limit England’s chances.

A nervous first few minutes for the U.S. resulted in an early goal for England on the first opportunity of the match. Following a deep throw-in along the U.S. flank, Frank Lampard played a slight ball into the top of the penalty area that missed its intended target, forward Wayne Rooney, but did find its way into an opening for Emile Heskey to turn on defender Jay DeMerit and play a ball toward Gerrard. Making a diagonal run into the area ahead of Ricardo Clark, Gerrard took one touch and then easily slotted the ball past Howard in the fourth minute.

The U.S. evened the match in the 40th minute as Dempsey took possession of the ball 35 yards from goal, turned twice on Gerrard to create some space, and then unleashed a left-footed shot from 25 yards that England goalkeeper Robert Green bundled across the line despite being in perfect position to smother the threat, getting two hands firmly on the ball in front of his body.

“It’s important for us to still come away with a point. It’s a difficult way to start but I felt the response from the team was strong and there are good things we can take away from the match," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “We’ve had a good focus the whole time. We’ve said it so many times that we understand what the first round is about, but we were still excited to start the World Cup playing against England . It’s a big game and a big night, and overall we take away positive things as we now get ready for Slovenia .” (More Quotes)

With his goal, Dempsey joined former U.S. forward Brian McBride as the only players in team history to score in two different FIFA World Cup tournaments (2006 and 2010).

The shot from distance was one of a handful for the USA in the first half, with Altidore challenging England from outside the penalty area twice, and Landon Donovan coming very close in the 39th minute, also hitting a shot from 25 yards that skated just past the left post. Earlier, Donovan had found the head of Altidore in the area with a dangerous attempt in the 19th minute that the forward could not nod on frame.

After a slow start to the second half, the game’s pace increased around the 60th minute and didn’t subside until the final whistle.

The closest chance of the half came from the foot of Altidore, who ran onto a ball played down the left flank from Donovan (racing to save a ball from going over the touchline at midfield). Altidore then outmuscled midfielder Jamie Carragher, gaining a step on the second-half substitute and carrying the ball for 35 yards into the area. The 20-year old U.S. forward then squared his hips and hit a right-footed blast from eight yards out that Green parried, only to see the ball ricochet dangerously off the near post and into the air where the U.S. could not collect it and continue the pressure.

During a five-minute stretch beginning in the 70th minute, England challenged Howard with sustained pressure, but a strong defensive performance from the USA’s back line of Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit, Steve Cherundolo and captain Carlos Bocanegra proved flawless in the final 45 minutes. The four defenders were taking the field together for the first time since the team’s 2-1 qualifying loss to Mexico in Mexico City on August 12, 2009.

Cherundolo was particularly strong throughout the game, getting involved from the beginning by getting deep down the right flank to challenge on offense and defensively getting the job done against England ’s speedy Shaun Wright-Phillips (who replaced James Milner in the 31st minute after the U.S. defender had been giving him fits).

For Onyewu, his strong performance in the air in the second half came in just his fourth game back from his patellar tendon injury more than seven months ago. The 90-minute performance from the defender was a key part of the USA ’s success.

In the 71st minute, Gerrard almost found Rooney sneaking into the penalty area unmarked, but despite being at full stretch, the forward could only barely get his head on a ball that didn’t challenge Howard. Four minutes later, on a quick restart, Rooney took a couple of touches and hit a shot from 20 yards that slid just past the right post, with Howard stretching and appearing to the have the corner of the goal covered.

Just a moment later, an unmarked Wright-Phillips made an overlapping run into the penalty area and saw his powerful shot on target parried out of play by Howard. And two minutes following that attempt, Heskey headed a dangerous Gerrard cross over the bar.

Including Howard, six players in the USA 's starting line-up were making their World Cup debut, including strike partners Altidore and Robbie Findley, as well as midfielders Michael Bradley and Clark. Defender DeMerit also made his World Cup debut as a starter, as did substitutes Edson Buddle and Stuart Holden.

Howard’s heroics came despite taking a boot from forward Heskey to his right side in the 29th minute while making an excellent diving clearance on a dangerous cross from England defender Glen Johnson. Howard stayed down on the play for three minutes, but returned to action to help the USA earn the draw.

The result marked the first time since 1994 that the USA opened FIFA World Cup play with a draw. And the early goal marked the third straight FIFA World Cup in which the USA saw a goal scored inside the five-minute mark of their first game. Jan Koller scored for the Czech Republic in the fifth minute in 2006 and John O’Brien scored in the fourth minute against Portugal in 2002.

Another standout performance for the USA came from Donovan, who was appearing in his team-leading ninth FIFA World Cup match, doing an excellent job of finding the ball and involving himself in the U.S. attack after seeing the team fall behind so early.

The USA 's World Cup journey continues on Friday (June 18) against Slovenia at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg , and then on June 23 against Algeria in Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria . Both matches kickoff at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) live on ESPN HD and Univision, with special pre-game coverage beginning at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN. Fans can also follow along on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and at twitter.com/ussoccer.  

- U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report-

Match: United States vs. England
Date: June 12, 2010
Competition: FIFA World Cup
Venue: Royal Bafokeng Stadium - Rustenburg
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. local time
Attendance: 38,646
Weather: Clear and cool, 57 degrees Fahrenheit

Scoring Summary: 1    2     F
USA                       1     0     1
ENG                       1     0     1

ENG – Steven Gerrard (Emile Heskey)    4th minute
USA – Clint Dempsey                              40

Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 2-Steve Cherundolo, 15-Jay DeMerit, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.); 10-Landon Donovan,13 -Ricardo Clark, 4-Michael Bradley, 8-Clint Dempsey; 20-Robbie Findley (14-Edson Buddle, 77), 17-Jozy Altidore (11-Stuart Holden, 86)
Subs not used: 6-Jonathan Spector, 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 9-Herculez Gomez, 12-Jonathan Bornstein, 16-Jose Torres, 18-Brad Guzan, 19-Maurice Edu, 21-Clarence Goodson, 22-Benny Feilhaber, 23-Marcus Hahnemann
Head Coach: Bob Bradley

ENG: 12-Robert Green; 2-Glen Johnson, 6-John Terry, 20-Ledley King (18-Jamie Carragher, 46), 3-Ashley Cole; 7-Aaron Lennon, 8-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard (capt.), 16-James Milner (Shaun Wright-Phillips, 31); 10-Wayne Rooney, 21-Emile Heskey (9-Peter Crouch, 79)
Subs not used: 1-David James, 5-Michael Dawson, 11-Joe Cole, 13-Stephen Warnock, 14-Gareth Barry, 15-Matthew Upson, 19-Jermain Defoe, 22-Michael Carrick, 23-Joe Hart
Head Coach: Fabio Capello

Stats Summary: USA / ENG
Shots: 13 / 18
Shots on Goal: 4 / 8
Saves: 6 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 8
Fouls: 14 / 12
Offside: 2 / 5

Misconduct Summary:
ENG – James Milner (caution)               26th minute
USA – Steve Cherundolo (caution)        39
USA – Jay DeMerit (caution)                47
ENG – Jamie Carragher (caution)          60
ENG – Steven Gerrard (caution)            61
USA – Robbie Findley (caution)            74

Officials:
Referee: Carlos Simon (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Altemir Hausmann (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Braatz (BRA)
Fourth Official: Eddy Maillet (SEY)

ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Tim Howard 

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