England 1 - USA 1 (World Cup)

What a great game to watch! After 5 minutes, the USA was already down a goal, and things looked grim. But just before half, the English goalkeeper pulled a "Bill Buckner", and things were even again. The second half was tension-packed, but there was no scoring, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. To grade the teams... . USA Offense : B- The footwork was good, the conditioning program showed, and we have some speedy strikers that caused all sorts of match-up problems for England. But the passing game sucked, and our shots were really wimpy. . England Offense : B+ Gerrard and Rooney both impressed me. The footwork was even better than the USA's, the passing was crisp, and their set plays were opening up shots the whole game. Still, only one shot went in, and that really had more to do with... . USA Defense : C- They were questionable before the World Cup even started, and they looked pathetic on the first goal. At that point, they could've folded, but instead they tightened up. They did a nice job on Rooney the whole game. Yet the questions remain. . England Defense : A- They never broke down and made the USA offense look sickly throughout. I was especially impressed with their tackling and getting to the loose balls first. . USA Goal-Keeping : A What a gritty performance by Tim Howard. No question about it - he was the MVP of the match. Good saves, great leadership, and he played hurt for the majority of the game. He was a little shaky on a couple of the saves, but I have the feeling that the ball and grass were slick. . England Goal-Keeping : D It's not just a matter of blowing that goal. There was fear in Robert Green's eyes. Yeah, he only allowed one score. But the Americans were hitting lobs at him. What will happen when he faces a top-notch offense like Brazil or Spain? .

In the end, it was a just outcome. Both goals were due more to luck than skill. Both teams are still positioned nicely to make it into the second round, even though ATM Slovenia is in first place after beating Algeria. Big hoop-de-doo.

Let's not kid ourselves - England is still the better of the two teams. Don't believe me? Look at who was rejoicing and who was bummed after the game was over. But the gap between the two countries' soccer programs has narrowed. Long-term, this bodes well for us Yanks.

Oh yeah, one last thing. Germany looked super-good today against Australia. And we haven't even seen Spain, Brazil, Portugal, and the Netherlands yet. The best is yet to come.