World Cup Roundup Day 2: Disaster Avioded for the US

Today was another exciting day at the World Cup and the opener for the US against the powerful English squad. Greece was beaten badly by South Korea and it doesn't look good for their qualification. This is sadly another bad blow to the Greek psyche as they are already suffering through a significant economic crisis. Argentina clearly looks like it will be a very strong contender in the knockout stages. The won very comfortably without scoring from Lionel Messi who was just off several times. Nigeria put up a strong fight and should look to rebound in their next match. The nightcap, in the afternoon for those of us in the US, was a beautiful game of back and forth action between the US and England. Disaster struck in the fourth minute when Steven Gerrard scored for England when his shot was unchallenged and open in front of the goal. The disastrous start was nullified by Dempsey's goal. The rest was fairly neutralized. The US looked it had some jitters which hopefully were eliminated with this game. Our offense showed some evidence of being very potent with the speed it features, but there was not enough consistent play in England's end to put up more than one goal. This needs to improve if the US has any hopes of advancing in the tournament. The US back line was solid when facing the onslaught in the second half. There is still room for improvement in communication. Other than the one missed header, Wayne Rooney was kept off the score sheet and ineffective most of the game. Of particular concern for me was the unmarked shots from just outside the box that were on goal. As for Gerrard's goal this was not the fault of the US defenders, but a mistake by Ricardo Clark. The key for the US seems to be the first ten minutes of the game. If they can survive unscathed they tend to have success. It was quite obvious that the US squad misses Charlie Davies speed threat on the attack even with Robbie Findley. Tim Howard showed why he is among the best goalkeepers in the world with all of his spectacular game saving saves.The best situation for the US and England is that Slovenia and Algeria end up in a tie. Otherwise one of the favorites will probably be heading home. If the US and England beat the other members of group C and the Slovenia-Algeria game ends in a tie then both teams advance.