Green blunder hands U.S. draw with England

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Reuters:

(Reuters) - A shocking schoolboy howler from England goalkeeper Robert Green gifted the United States a goal as the two sides tipped to qualify from Group C battled to a 1-1 stalemate at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday.

Green, 29, winning only his 11th England cap after being preferred to the vastly more experienced David James, will be haunted for the rest of his career by the mistake when he failed to routinely stop a low, bouncing 25-meter shot from Clint Dempsey after 40 minutes.

He reacted in horror as the ball squirmed out of his grasp and bounced away from him as he tried to prevent it crossing the line, crouching in abject mortification as it rolled into the back of the net to cancel out Steven Gerrard's fourth minute opener for England.

"It's one of those freak things that happens -- plenty of people have been talking about the ball this week. It shocked us a bit, but we'll get behind Robert," said Gerrard.

"I think the most important thing in your first game is not to lose. Unfortunately, we let a poor goal in and we couldn't go on and get the win."

It was the second time Green had endured a World Cup nightmare after becoming the first England goalkeeper ever to be sent off when he was red carded in a qualifying match against Ukraine last October.

He slightly redeemed himself in the second half when he forced a Jozy Altidore shot on to a post, but is unlikely to live down a woeful piece of keeping that could not be blamed on the unpredictable flight of the much criticized World Cup ball.

"Sometimes one player in front of the keeper misses a goal. Sometimes keepers make mistakes, that's football," said England coach Fabio Capello.

However bizarre, the goal was one the U.S. deserved after battling their way back into the match after Gerrard gave his side a dream start in the first World Cup meeting between the sides since the U.S. stunned England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup.
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In case you missed it, we actually beat somebody else in soccer!

I blame Bush...

[nickydog]

That definitely was a blunder. You gotta feel sorry for that goalie. It will go down in the history of World Cup blunders no doubt.

[Pepper]

 

I happened to watch ten seconds of a match, I couldn't hear the commentary due to the Vuvuzela contingent.

[Pepper]

WestVirginiaRebel! Clearvision!

 

Vuvuzela a 'Global Synonym for Mood Killer'

 

Vuvuzela a 'Global Synonym for Mood Killer'

 

"After only three days of World Cup games, international players in South Africa are already complaining about the trumpet, which has been a regular facet at the country's football stadiums since the 1990s. Players on the French national team say the noise keeps them from sleeping -- the horns start at dawn -- and that they cannot hear one another while on the field. Other players, including Argentinian team captain Javier Mascherano, have echoed those complaints. And at a press conference, Portugal's superstar Cristiano Ronaldo agreed, saying: "It is difficult for anyone on the pitch to concentrate." Finally, the president of the Japanese football association called the vuvuzela noise "unbearable."

Other criticisms of the vuvuzela include the fact that no other noise, like the sound of national anthems, can be heard above their drone, and that they ruin the atmosphere."