Well, we got quite a gift in our first World Cup match. It was one of those matches where if everyone took their chances, England probably would have won 3 or 2 to 1. Although the game was somewhat even in the middle of the field, we never looked like we were going to score except for the one run by Altidore where it deflected off of the goalie and then hit the post. I was impressed with the USA's resiliency after giving up a goal 4 minutes in and the general performance. I'll take the point. I got what I expected from our team: a few mental lapses in defense, a midfield and goalie that kept us in the game, and not much threat of scoring a goal. On the other side, I was a bit surprised how lackluster England played. It's the first game though, so teams are still getting up to speed (based on the other games I've seen). I'd say a good way to sum things up is the USA played well, England slightly underperformed, and the majority of the breaks went our way. All those added up to a draw...which before the game I would have taken without hesitation.
I'm writing this after watching the other game in this group between Slovenia and Algeria. In short, that game was one of the poorest games I've seen in a very long time. Neither team did much but give the ball to the other team. Two cheap yellow cards by the same substitute for Algeria and another terrible save attempt by the Algerian keeper gave Slovenia the win and 1st place. This isn't a good result for either England or the USA. However, after watching the game, I just don't see how either England or the USA will lose to either team. Although the USA Slovenia game Friday will be huge, I don't believe it is a must win for us. I still think a draw and then a win in our last game against Algeria (assuming England beat Slovenia) will advance us 5 points to 4 over Slovenia. A win against Slovenia though would all but put us through to the next round unless Slovenia beat England...which I just don't see happening.
A final quick shout out for the referees. They have done an outstanding job so far. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the latter first round group matches in the next few days...that's when we'll see the big guns.