England's Robert Green committed a shocking error to hand the United States a 40th minute equaliser and his team never truly recovered from that blow.
NEWS:Green gifts USA draw
NEWS:Green takes responsibility for gaffe
VIDEO:Watch Green's gaffe
The American is a class act and showed himself to be a true member of the Goalkeepers' Union with his post-match comments in support of his counterpart.
"Of course I do (feel sorry for him) but it is part of goalkeeping. As has been said all week long, this ball is doing silly things and unfortunately at this level things happen.
"I feel terrible for him but goalkeepers need to have broad shoulders," he said.
Howard, who has played seven years in England's Premier League with Manchester United and then his current club Everton, organised his defence well and was never afraid to let his defenders know what he thought of their laxness.
As his club manager David Moyes noted before the game - if Howard were English he would without doubt be Fabio Capello's first choice keeper.
There was little he could do about Steven Gerrard's strike in the fourth minute and from then on, he set about stopping every shot that came his way and, crucially, sorting out a back line that looked very shaky in the opening 20 minutes.
"I was pretty annoyed, the marking was too lax, particularly for the beginning of a game but then you have to respond and you can't dwell on it at that point," said Howard.
"He had every right to go for that ball, as I did, caught me just under my ribs. I was in a lot of pain but I always give myself five or 10 minutes," said Howard.
