Howard stood tall for the Americans on Saturday
Going into the match, confidence buzzed around both camps. The US team knew they were the underdogs, but were fully capable of beating England. England rightly knew they are capable of winning the entire tournament, and saw the US as a mildly difficult bump in the road. Much of the world agreed with England that the US side was nothing to worry about. As it turns out, they couldn’t have been more wrong.
When Steven Gerrard scored in the fourth minute, the world looked to be right. England exploited the perceived weakness of the US defense (Ricardo Clark) and made every American fan incredibly nervous. It was a typical start for the US team who has a tendency to give up weak early goals in the most important matches. In those matches, the US tends to fall apart after the first goal. For once, against England, they didn’t.
What really impressed me is that the Americans managed to get more aggressive. Usually a tentative team, the Yanks quickly learned that in order to stand any chance against a dominant English side, they had to use the traditional method of dealing with a bully: punch back hard. After a few tentative minute, the Americans took it to England for the rest of the half. The English struggled to respond, almost shocked that the US wasn’t immediately and totally crumbling.
No play signified the American will to compete more than when Emile Heskey spiked goalkeeper Tim Howard in the chest. Howard sacrificed his body to make a save and paid a steep price. As he writhed on the ground, American fans feared the worst. Still, Howard gathered himself together, grimaced, and returned to the match. Just a few minutes later, he took a shot straight to the chest, but stood firm and avoiding spilling for a weak goal. England was not so lucky.
After the initial goal, England relaxed. It proved to be their undoing. By allowing the Americans to play aggressively, England gave up their chance to take over the match and step on the throats of their biggest competitor in Group C. It finally came back to bite them when Robert Green misplayed Clint Dempsey’s “just in-case” shot. Completely unlike Howard, Green fumbled the initial save and saw it roll gently over the goal line, tying the match at 1-1.
After Dempsey’s goal, England became a different team. They woke up and responded with attack after attack after attack. Still, the Americans stood firm. Sure there were close calls, but that is the American style of play. The defense is designed to bend, but not break. The mindset is to lure the attack in to the point where a breakaway counter is possible. It worked perfectly in the second half when Jozy Altidore broke down the sideline got a shot off, but Green was able get in front and block the ball into the post.
What the second half told the world was that they were not going to be pushed around. England may have been the better team overall, but the Americans proved they can play with the big boys even when they don’t play their best game. Bob Bradley’s squad never broke from their style of play, something that has always troubled the US squad in adverse situations. After the England match, the world is on notice. The Yanks aren’t coming. They’ve arrived.
Adam Soucie is the author of Soccer, Not Football, a blog focused on the American game. If you’ve liked this piece, check out his other work. If you haven’t liked it, he promises there’s better stuff on his site.