World Cup Log - Day 2

Day 2 saw the hype machine oil it's cogs, for it was the day England kicked off their campaign. They played the USA in the evening game but before that there were two early kick offs. Argentina played Nigeria in a lackluster affair. The Argies started brightly and took an early lead with a header from Heinze. They looked fallible at the back however and Nigeria threatened on a number of occasions. They didn't capitalise and Argentina held on for a 1-0 victory, although in truth it could have been 3 or 4 were it not for the brilliance of Enyeama in goal.
In the early game South Korea showed plenty of endeavor and deservedly won 2-0 against Greece, one of the goals coming from Man Utd's Ji Sung Park. South Korea will almost certainly battle it out with Nigeria for second spot. Greece looked very poor.
And so to the main event and England looked like a team so paralyzed by fear that the hype looks to have been well wide of the mark. Their position amongst the favourites has more to do with weight of money than actual ability, although it has to be said they are better than they showed last night. They never looked to get the ball down and play, a tactic that surely would have benefitted them against a workmanlike USA side. Instead they opted for the long ball with Heskey the prime target. Heskey indeed was involved in the opener, threading a neat pass for Gerrard to finish with aplomb.
England have suffered their share of goalkeeping misfortune in recent years and last night it was the turn of Robert Green to suffer the calamity tag. An innocuous effort from Clint Dempsey was somehow spilt in to the back of the English net. Heads dropped and USA worked through the rest of the game to secure a scarcely expected draw. England will need to pick it up from here and that starts with their next game against Algeria on Friday. This is a game they should win comprehensively.
Onwards to Day 3..