2010 FIFA World Cup: England's Robert Green Should Not Get All the Blame

Last night, the Three Lions started their world cup campaign. With all the hopes and expectations on their shoulders, the England players entered the game with nothing but the intention of winning.

Less than five minutes into the game, Gerrard scored the game's opener and England looked like they were gonna be in control. Fast forward 40 minutes later, and the United States scored a fluke goal, and that resulted in the game ending with both teams getting a point.

While indeed Robert Green was the main reason for the goal conceded, it's the wrong course of action to blame him for the draw, and for England not getting maximum points from their encounter with the Americans.

There are many people to blame, and this is a team game. The rest of the team must take responsibility for their lack of creativity and their lack of ambition throughout the match.

Every four years it's the same story, the English press keep saying that this is the year they win the World Cup, and every four years it's the same old story. An explosion occurs once England is eliminated.

The press always puts too much pressure on the England players, and the end result is always a disappointing one.

It's a good thing to be optimistic, but being too optimistic is not a good thing.

The English press and fans all went into the game with the expectation of winning. England were the favorites, but that doesn't mean they'd already won it.

Impudence cost England dearly. The United States isn't a great team, not in the same league as the likes of Germany and Spain, but they are one of the best teams to give said great teams a run for their money.  A great team isn't one that not only learns from its mistakes, but from the other team's mistakes as well.

The United States were able to punish Egypt, who had a half-injured squad and got their tactics completely wrong on the night, exploiting both weaknesses to full effect. Later on they were able to block Spain's attacking power with aggressive defence and killed the Spaniards on the counter. After that they almost won the tournament against Brazil only to lose in the end of the game against one of the strongest attacking teams on the planet.

It was a surprise that Fabio Capello and the England squad didn't give the States the respect that they deserved.

The United States don't have the most technically gifted squad, only Donovan and Dempsey can fit in that category with ease.

But they have a great team chemistry that has enabled them to compete with the world's giants. Bob Bradley is a man who knows his limits and knows when he is facing a better team, which has happened a lot in the past year, and he has been able to impress greatly against all of them.

It's safe to say that Bradley is the greatest coach to coach the United States. Going against him wasn't exactly going to be pretty, especially with his tactics.

England started the game with all their players wanting to make the difference all by themselves.

When you look at England's squad, you'll see some of the world's finest: Lampard, Gerrard, and Terry have already established themselves as legends for their clubs, while that eternal douche Ashley Cole is an FA cup legend, winning the tournament five times. Look at their achievements or their stats in video games, you'll see a team filled with beasts—most of the bench players are more talented than the starting lineup for the States.

But together, they lack chemistry in a way like no other.

The only memorable team play from England was Heskey's assist for Gerrard to score the goal. Other than that the majority of the game was miscommunication. Terry and King felt like they've never played together before, while Robert Green was unable to communicate with his defenders at all.

Ashley Cole was nothing like his usual self, while Lampard and Rooney, two of the most important figures in the English team, were invisible throughout.

As individuals, England has some of the greatest names on the planet. But as a team, they were found wanting last night, and Casillas' comments about the goalkeeping situation being a weakness for England seems to ring true.

Lampard and Rooney must step up and deliver if England is to win the World Cup this year. The stand out players for England were Glenn Johnson, Gerrard, and Heskey. Terry was very uncomfortable on the ball while the rest of the team looked out of sync.

The United States were comfortable throughout the remainder of the game and were able to block England's attack. They almost scored a second goal through Altidore, only to be denied by Green, who will be grateful for the cross bar saving from more embarrassment.

Green is not a world class goal keeper, but he is a very good one, having a bad day occasionally is expected. Tim Howard conceded six goals against Arsenal at the start of the season, but was able to put on one of his finest performances against England yesterday, being one of the main reasons that the United States were able to collect a point that can prove to be vital.

Using Green as a scape goat at this point in time is the wrong course of action, especially when the rest of the squad was found lacking. Green must have the players' and the fans' backing to encourage him to be a difference maker for England.

The million dollar question at this moment is probably going to be "Who will be the first choice keeper in the next game?"

While it's most likely that Capello will choose James instead of Green, Capello should give Green another chance. Green was better than James last season and one error should not make Capello change his plans at this time in the competition. Not only would that kill Green's confidence, but it would make England look much weaker in the eyes of the other top teams such as Spain and Brazil.

England are still among the favorites to win the World Cup, and getting it wrong in the first game of the tournament is a lot better than getting it wrong in the knockout stages. England should learn from their mistakes, and from the other team's mistakes as well.

With two games left against Algeria and Slovenia, England is expected to get nothing less than six points, but the most important thing is finding the right formation and the right attitude and team chemistry to keep England going throughout the competition.

Only when England find their strengths and chemistry, will they be able to win the World Cup, and it's not that hard really. This is the strongest England team in a long time, and with one of the greatest managers in the world of football, only a fool would argue that England are not good enough to win the World Cup.

They just need one thing they currently lack to make it all the way to the final.

Chemistry.