RUSTENBURG, South Africa—England has given much to the U.S. over the years, and Saturday in South Africa it gave the U.S. its first point in the 2010 World Cup.  The United States takes on England in a high-profile Group C match, while South Korea won against Greece and Argentina beat Nigeria in Group B.  With a muff that is likely to make him the most hated man in England, goalkeeper Robert Green fumbled one of the easiest shots of the night, letting a slow-rolling shot from Clint Dempsey bounce off his fingers and into the goal late in the first half. The goal drew the Americans even, earning Team U.S.A. a 1-1 tie, and sent thousands of the red, white and blue faithful at Royal Bofakeng Stadium into a frenzy.  Soccer fans watch the U.S. vs. England World Cup match in a pub on Saturday in New York City.  It also silenced the thousands more fans of Three Lions who trekked across the South African countryside for one of the most anticipated match-ups of the 2010 World Cup.  "It's one of those goals that you say, 'Why can't I get one like that,'" a grinning Mr. Dempsey said after the game. "But these balls do move a lot, and I'm sure the keepers don't appreciate that."  Needless to say this was not the result the inventors of the game were looking for or expecting. The U.S. was 2-7 against England entering the game and salvaged the draw behind the stunning play of goalkeeper Tim Howard. The contrasts between these two teams—England, the inventors of the game; the U.S. still finding its way in a foreign sport—was as striking as the match attire of the two coaches. England's Fabio Capello wore a three-piece suit. U.S. coach Bob Bradley wore his warm-ups.  But a match that drew Vice President Joe Biden to the U.S. locker room and sent the English standard bearing St. George's cross flying above 10 Downing Street, left the U.S. in solid position heading into its next two games.  England is widely considered the strongest team in the four-team group. With games coming up against against Algeria and Slovenia, the weakest teams to emerge from qualifying play in Africa and Europe, a win against either side would give the U.S. four points and virtually guarantee a ticket to the knockout stage.  In 2006, just one team that earned four points in group play failed to advance.  From the time soccer players first begin dribbling up and down a field they are taught a simple lesson: You can't score if you don't shoot. Keep putting the ball on net and eventually good things will happen.  That's how things went for Mr. Dempsey and Team U.S.A., as the bizarre goal saved the U.S. from what would have been a stinging defeat. England is the sort of European power the U.S. desperately wants to prove it can play with. In Rustenburg on Saturday night it did just that.  Mr. Dempsey took possession of a loose ball just outside of the penalty area, moved it right with a touch and sent a weak shot through the defense toward Mr. Green. The goalkeeper went down on one knee and watched the ball bounce into his hands, then spin to the right and roll slowly into the net in the 40th minute.  Mr. Green crouched on his line in despair, his head sinking into his knees as Mr. Dempsey sprinted toward his bench with his hands raised for a youth-league style celebration.  "It was obviously a horrible mistake, a terrible mistake," said Mr. Green, bobbing his head incredulously after the game. He blamed neither the controversial new ball, the bounciest ever, nor the slickness of the pitch, and said his teammates left him alone after the mishap. "People don't say anything. You know you made a mistake. You've got to deal with it."  It was the ugliest of goals, but to borrow a phrase from a game the U.S. invented, they all look like diving headers on the score sheet.  "They'll all forget about how it went in and just remember the result," said U.S. forward Edson Buddle.  Meanwhile Mr. Howard solidified his reputation as a world-class goalkeeper, stopping numerous point-blank shots and a second-half breakaway by Emile Heskey.  Mr. Howard almost didn't make it to halftime. In the 28th minute, Mr. Heskey slid for a centering cross from Ashley Cole and crashed cleat-first into Mr. Howard's chest. He writhed on the ground and needed several minutes of medical attention but remained in the game.  "It hurts, but I was pumped up on adrenaline and I got a shot up at halftime," said Mr. Howard, who was treated with cortisone at the intermission.  The atmosphere was electric at the cozy stadium, which had a capacity crowd of just 38,490. The building is among the smallest of the World Cup venues. With just two low levels of seats, it has the feel of a Division II college-football ground.  At first it looked like 2006 all over again. Just as they did in the early going against the Czechs in Germany four years ago, the U.S. gave up a crushing early goal in the third minute. England's captain Steven Gerrard made a quick cut through the top of the penalty area and took a perfectly played short ball from Mr. Heskey, then flicked the ball past Mr. Howard's left hand.  The goal was a typical early let-down for the American defense, which often misses assignments as opponents make diagonal runs through the goal, especially in the first minutes of games.  "We talked about not conceding early, but man that's been out trademark," said U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra.  In this case, it was midfielder Ricardo Clark who let Mr. Gerrard go, and no defender slid over to help. An enraged Mr. Howard pounded the turf, yelling at his defense to clamp down.  For the most part, they did. The U.S., not known for its skills at possessing the ball, kept the ball for a surprising 47% of the match. It also managed to frustrate Wayne Rooney, England's most dangerous scoring threat, knocking him around when he received the ball near the goal and cutting down on his trademark sprints up the the wing.  The scoreless second half featured 45 minutes of rugged, play and several scoring opportunities for both sides. In addition to Mr. Heskey's breakaway, Mr. Green deflected a shot from five yards off the foot of U.S. forward Jozy Altidore into the right post, England's captain sent in a screaming ball from 20 yards, that Mr. Howard could only deflect over the crossbar. Mr. Bocanegra missed a header from close range of a free kick from Landon Donovan.  Overall, Mr. Bradley—the U.S. coach—couldn't complain too much.  "It's important for us to still come away with a point," he said. "It's a difficult way to start but I felt the response from the team was strong and there are good things we can take away from the match."  Mr. Capello, England's coach, tried to remain positive too, telling his players that the fact that Mr. Howard won Man of the Match showed England had played a solid game and put tremendous pressure on a scrappy U.S. team. "We had lots of chances in the game. There were a lot of positives. Just the result wasn't positive," he said.  Write to Matthew Futterman at matthew.futterman@wsj.com
Clint Dempsey scored on a blunder by goalkeeper Robert Green in the 40th minute, and the United States came from behind to tie England 1-1 in the Americans' World Cup opener Saturday.