Gerrard scores as England draw

A superb goal from Steven Gerrard helped England to a 1-1 draw in their World Cup opener against USA on Saturday night.

The midfielder smashed home early in the game on a day when he became the first Liverpool player ever to captain the Three Lions at a World Cup.

The USA drew level through Clint Dempsey following a howler from goalkeeper Robert Green.

Glen Johnson was also involved throughout, while Jamie Carragher was introduced at half-time.

But it was Gerrard who gave England the start a nation had been dreaming of on four minutes when Emile Heskey found his surging run into the box. The skipper kept his composure to poke beyond Tim Howard and bag his 17^th international goal.

The USA responded well and should have been level when Jozy Altidore got his head on Landon Donovan's cross. AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu also nodded wide from a good position, while Donovan had Green scrambling across goal with a long-range hit.

The equaliser came when Green fumbled a speculative drive from Dempsey before watching in horror as the ball trickled into the net.

Johnson almost restored the lead immediately when he skipped past two USA defenders and forced a low save from Howard.

England came out for the second half with Carragher in their number, the Scouser replacing Ledley King in the heart of defence.

His former clubmate Heskey had a very good chance to make it 2-1 on 52 minutes but blasted straight at Howard when one-on-one.

Frank Lampard then stung the palms of Howard with a left-foot whack before a Johnson snapshot from the resulting corner smacked the hoardings.

England looked the more likely to claim a winner and it almost came with an audacious strike from Wayne Rooney on 74 minutes.

Both Rooney and substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips forced near post saves from Howard as Fabio Capello's men threw everything at their opponents.

Next Gerrard crafted a superb opening for Heskey with a pinpoint cross on the run, but the Aston Villa striker couldn't keep his header down.

Capello introduced Peter Crouch for Heskey with just over 10 minutes to go but it was Lampard who was next to find himself in a goalscoring position only to be impeded by a well-timed Onyewu challenge.

Breakdown of key contributions from our boys:

4min: Gerrard gives England a dream start by poking beyond Howard following Heskey's reverse pass

5min: Good covering by Johnson after King beaten

9min: Loose sidefoot from Gerrard allows USA to threaten before John Terry clears

10min: Gerrard floats corner towards Johnson, who handballs

11min: Awry  cross from Johnson

12min: Terrific sliding tackle from Gerrard to thwart Robbie Findley

13min: The skipper heads behind for a corner as USA surge

15min: Gerrard flies through Dempsey but the challenge is legal

22min: Solid tackle from Johnson on Carlos Bocanegra

29min: Cruyff turn takes Gerrard past Bradley. His cross is cleared brilliantly by Bocanegra

29min: Testing cross from Johnson towards Heskey. Brave goalkeeping from the Everton man

32min: Johnson outmuscles Donovan - another USA player with Everton connections

40min: Dempsey wins half a yard from Gerrard and fires in the equaliser via a howler from Green. He'll have nightmares about that

41min: Johnson beats two men before forcing a low save from Howard

46min: Carragher brought on in place of King to earn his 37^th cap

49min: Lovely cross from Johnson is headed away by Watford's Jay DeMerit

52min: A boot clear from Carragher as Green hesitates

57min: Great defending from Carragher to hold off Altidore

58min: Now Johnson stops Altidore in his tracks

59min: Yellow card for Carragher as his studs find Findley's ankles

60min: Gerrard heads clear resulting free-kick

61min: The skipper joins his pal in the referee's book after arguing an incorrect free-kick decision

62min: Johnson makes Donovan look silly before his left-foot cross is headed out of the danger zone by Onyewu

64min: Johnson snapshot clatters the hoardings

65min: Carragher outpaced by Altidore allowing Green to earn a level of redemption with a superb save

66min: Johnson told to get treatment after a whack in the face draws blood

67min: Gerrard fills in at right-back

68min: Johnson returns

71min: Trademark whip in from Gerrard but it's just too deep for Rooney, who flicks wide

73min: Carragher blocks the run of Findley. Smart defending

74min: Gerrard down in agony after Findley flies studs-first into his right ankle

77min: World-class cross on the run from Gerrard but Heskey can't keep his header down

78min: Johnson cross cleared for a corner which Gerrard floats in

81min: Wayward pass from Gerrard in a threatening area but thankfully the shot is blocked

83min: The captain makes amends with a smart interception and pass to Rooney

86min: Carragher's punt is headed wide by late sub Crouch