U-20 national team defender Dan Califf slammed home a first-half header as the United States defeated England, 1-0, in the team’s opening match of the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Kano, Nigeria. The victory puts the U.S. even atop Group E with Cameroon, who came from behind to defeat Japan, 2-1, in the opening match at the Sani Abacha Stadium. The U.S. win over England avenges the only other meeting between the two nations in a world youth championship; England handed the U.S. a 1-0 loss at the ’93 tournament in Australia. The last time a U.S. team defeated England in a world championship was the legendary 1-0 win at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. “I’m very happy with the effort we gave here today,” said U.S. head coach Sigi Schmid. “We dealt with the pressure of an opening game very well and put England on the defensive early in the match.” The U.S. forced the play in the opening minutes of the match, causing numerous problems in the England half of the field. After two minutes, Francisco Gomez whipped a free kick from 25 yards into the area, but England keeper Stuart Taylor was well-positioned to go low to his left to make the save. Taylor, who was rarely out of position, kept England in the match by making several stellar saves. But after 11 minutes the Americans took the lead through Califf. Gomez hooked a right- footed corner kick into the penalty area, where the 6-foot-2 central defender, who got a step inside his marker, hammered his header past Taylor from seven yards. “I was just happy to be in the right place at the right time,” said Califf. “Three points against England is all we could have asked for, and we’re happy that we’ve started this tournament off with an important win against a very good opponent.” The momentum lifted the U.S., who continued to string passes together throughout the half. England, content to play a low-pressure game after the goal, allowed the U.S. defense and Steve Cherundolo in particular, to play numerous probing balls out of the back. Forwards Chris Albright and Taylor Twellman were the recipients of most of these passes and spent most of the half causing havoc for the English. Albright nearly scored a goal identical to Califf’s on 13 minutes, but his header from another Gomez corner kick went over the crossbar. In the second half, substitute Shaun Tsakiris’ presence in the midfield provided more U.S. scoring opportunities. The 5-foot-9 midfielder unbalanced defenders with his ball-handling skills and supplied pinpoint crosses to Twellman, Albright and wide midfielder Matt Goldsmith. As the match ticked away, U.S. netminder Tim Howard was called upon to make several key saves to earn the shutout. Howard stopped a long-range drive by Craig Dudley in the 60th minute and with three minutes to play covered a low, driven shot by Greg Lincoln. “We train every day on staying focused and keeping your concentration,” said Howard. “It feels great to not only shut out a very good opponent, but to be in a good position after one game. We still have room to improve, but we’ll enjoy this victory for now.” The U.S. team will play its final two Group E matches — versus Japan (April 8) and Cameroon (April 11) — in the Nigerian city of Bauchi. The top two teams in each of the six opening groups, as well as the four best third-place teams, advance to the Round of 16. In the first Group E match of the day, Cameroon scored two second-half goals to shock Japan, 2-1. The technically superior Japanese team were unfortunate not to score more than once. Cameroon looked disheartened and beaten in early stages of the second half, but it rallied to tie and then, almost unbelievably, scored the winner in the final minutes to steal the victory. April 5 in Kano USA 1 England 0. Goal: Califf 11. USA — Howard, Cherundolo, Califf, Bocanegra, Goldsmith, Garcia, Downing, Thorrington (Pierce, 70), Gomez (Tsakiris, 46), Albright, Twellman (Beasley, 81). England — Taylor, Cole, Wright, Haslam, Dudley, Piercy (Lincoln, 58), Etherington, Nichols (Murphy, 84), Cooper, Vernazza, Oliver (Johnson, 46). Yellow cards: USA — Califf 69; England — Cole 44, Lincoln 62. Referee: Mourad Daami (Tunisia). Att.: 14,500.