USA midfielder Clint Dempsey was happy his speculative shot against England on Saturday managed to get over the line.

The Fulham man was the hero for the USA with his second half goal thanks to a schoolboy error from England goalkeeper Robert Green which gave both teams a share of the points in their opening World Cup match.

Dempsey said it was nice to get a goal like that, with relative ease, as opposed to all the other ones he has to work so hard for.

"When I hit the shot I knew it was going on target and at the last second it moved a little bit," he said.

"I saw Green reaching for it but then I saw it go over the line. I was hoping the referee saw it too. Thankfully he did.

"It is one of those goals everyone else seems to get. You watch them and think 'Why can I never get a goal like that'. Now I have."

Dempsey added that he believed his side was lucky to get the draw after some sloppy play in the second half but was full of praise for goalkeeper Tim Howard who made some crucial saves.

"In the second half we didn't do a good job keeping possession," he added.

"They had some good opportunities and Tim came up with some big saves. But we had two excellent chances as well.

"When Jozy (Altidore) hit the post if he squared it to me or it had got a different bounce we could have scored."