Robert Green Bobble – Dempsey Goal

 


Is this the luckiest goal ever in a World Cup? Is this the biggest blunder ever in a World Cup? I think it’s both. As someone tweeted, ‘Holy Green’. Dempsey’s seemingly harmless shot is parried into the back of the net by England’s ‘keeper’ Robert Green.

Someone must have had to stop Rooney from punching Green in the face at halftime. The United States, after giving up an early goal to Steven Gerrard, were single handedly given a life line and a Christmas present by Green’s blunder. Or, as the British say, howler. It was a decent shot but certainly one that Green should have saved, it wasn’t a knuckle ball or anything like that.

 

See the blunder in pictures.

Clint Dempsey had this to say about the goal:

“At the last second, it moved a little bit,” Dempsey said. “These balls move so much, you just hit them on goal, you have a chance. It’s one of those goals you always say, `Why can’t I get one like that?”

Tim Howard was sympathetic of the England keeper:

“He’ll bounce back from that, he’s good enough,” he said. “I really felt for him tonight and I did have mixed emotions when the goal went in. It’s never good to see and there’s nothing you can say or do to make him feel better.

“But he’s got broad shoulders, you have to as a goalkeeper. You’ve got to understand the criticism and the highs and lows and I think he’ll be fine. Aside from the mistake, he played well, pulled off a really big save from Jozy [Altidore]. I thought that was going to be the goal that put us over the edge.”