Pretoria - A tense yet fair-minded opening match between England and the USA ended in a 1-1 draw at the Royal Bafokeng stadium on Saturday night as a result of a serious blunder made by England's goalie.
Group C opened at record speed with England captain Steven Gerrard's goal against the USA after only four minutes of play.
As the rejuvenated England boasted an offensive firepower that promised to deliver glory, their goal keeper Robert Green made a huge blunder when he let in Clint Dempsey's shot four minutes into the second-half.
Green allowed a simple shot taken 27 metres from the box to spin off his right glove and ultimately cross the goal line.
Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey tried to open up the USA defence, but goal keeper Tim Howard often positioned himself to deny the trio to step up the score with his brilliant saves.
Howard made a brilliant save when his defence allowed Gerrard more space to run in the box, but the England captain shot the ball directly into the hands of Howard.
The match ended with the Americans pushing for a win. Since the opening match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, there are only seven goals scored out of five games.
Korea beat Greece 2-nil, Argentina humiliated Nigeria 1-nil, while the games between South Africa and Mexico, USA and England ended with 1-1 all draw.
Another Group C match between Algeria and Slovenia is underway at Peter Mokaba stadium.
