Landon Donovan scored on a penalty kick in the 88th minute, lifting the United States to a 1-1 tie with Poland in the World Under-17 Youth Soccer Championships today in Auckland, New Zealand.
The tie gave the United States, which features 16-year-old Bobby Convey of Philadelphia, a 1-0-1 mark in first-round Group A play.
"They were huge," Convey said. "They had a lot of 6-footers, so they got a few more headers than us. When we kept the ball on the ground, we did OK."
The U.S. team opened competition Wednesday with a 2-1 triumph over New Zealand. The United States will play its final first-round match Tuesday against Uruguay.
Poland grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 43d minute on a penalty kick by Lukasz Madej after a Convey foul in the penalty area.
"The guy turned and tried to get by me and he tripped," said Convey, who started at forward and played the first half. "They gave him the PK."
The match remained that way until Donovan, who plays professionally for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, was tripped up by Wojciech Szymanek in the same spot where Convey was whistled for his infraction. His shot beat goalie Pawel Kaspa.
