Former Norwich goalkeeper Bryan Gunn is confident Robert Green will bounce back from his World Cup blunder. Green allowed a 25-yard shot from Clint Dempsey to slip from his grasp and over the line for the United States' equaliser as England drew 1-1 in their opening Group C fixture in Rustenburg last night.

Former Norwich goalkeeper Bryan Gunn is confident Robert Green will bounce back from his World Cup blunder.

Green allowed a 25-yard shot from Clint Dempsey to slip from his grasp and over the line for the United States' equaliser as England drew 1-1 in their opening Group C fixture in Rustenburg last night.

The West Ham stopper may now be dropped for Friday's clash with Algeria, but Gunn - who he worked with at his previous club Norwich - has no doubt that Green will be able to move on from the incident. “He has definitely got the mental toughness,” Gunn said. “I worked with him as a 16-year-old at Norwich and he overcame some big injuries at that time for a youngster. Having watched him develop as a young goalkeeper and then go on to play in the Premier League with West Ham, I think he has shown the capability of overcoming big problems like this.

“He came out right after the game and admitted that he had made a mistake and he sounded very positive in his own mind that he could overcome it.”

England coach Fabio Capello must now decide whether to make a change by bringing David James or Joe Hart into his starting line-up, but Gunn believes the Italian should keep faith in Green.“I think he should stick with him,” Gunn said. “There was a lot of debate about who should be that number one and Fabio Capello came out and named Robert for the game. Fabio has mentioned the mistake and will be talking to Robert during the build-up to the next game against Algeria. I've been watching him in training and I'm sure Robert will be working hard with the coaches. It's up to him to prove to Capello that he has overcome the mistake. If it there is a change and David James and Joe Hart come into the frame, I'm sure Robert is big enough to overcome that as well, but I hope he gets another chance to show what a good goalkeeper he is.”