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Robert Green: Totally walking back to England

Say this for the Americans - we're not boring.

Infuriating, inspiring or incompetent - there's always a reason to yell.

Scoreline - June 12, 2010
USA: 1
Dempsey 40'
England: 1
Gerrard 4'

There's a lot of cheering at how the US wasn't demolished by England - how we showed real spirit.

Demerit shut down Rooney...Altidore could have won it... blah blah blah...

Look, I'm as happy as the next yank - but you have to look at what happened. Yet again, the US gets a point only by the grace of the soccer gods. And let's review... Soccer gods? A$$holes The only reason Green tanked on Dempsey's shot was because England is higher up on their sh!tlist than we were. Our time will come again - and the US is providing way too many vectors for a crushing takedown.

Exhibit A was the US defense. We were a surging bunch of madmen in midfield, but as soon as the ball got within 30 yards, we suddenly become a bunch of ball-watching tools. Yes, Howard was a stud in the net - but he had to be. England was getting all kinds of through balls on our left side, and but for Heskey's case of the goal pox we'd have lost this game by 2.

I loved watching our domination of the midfield - we never owned England, and we didn't get more possession - but it was so gratifying to see pass after pass get hacked off by Clark or Cherundolo. Great stuff. If we'd have been able to stomp on stuff like that in our own third as well - we might have had something.

But no, we had Lennon and Johnson shredding us practically at will - if they got through midfield. A lot of buzz is going around about Demerit shutting down Rooney, but Rooney was drawing attention and giving some great balls through to the English attack. I'd rather have him doing that than surging into our net - but we didn't shut him off. Rooney was dialing up his influence late in the game. If he'd have had 20 more minutes, I think he could have buried us.

Onyewu didn't feeb - but he didn't impress me much. Cherundolo was a maniac, and much as I've been slagging on Donovan - you can't deny the man was a building force for the US.

We have a good chance to clear the group now, I don't see us doing well in the knockout round - we're just too sloppy in the back, but hell this is soccer. Perhaps the soccer gods will dick with us by letting us live a bit longer.

Go USA.