Even though there are ten-place differences between England and the USA in FIFA World Cup point rankings, the performance put forward by both teams during their game on Friday seemed very well matched. The game ended in a draw, where both teams failed to score a goal.
Looking at the history of the matches played by the teams, England has never beaten the USA at a World Cup match before, and the record remains the same as the game had no clear winner.
Even though the match ended without a clear winner and a loser, it does not mean that things will be easy for the teams to move forward. The USA remains unbeaten in Group B with two points, but to move on further into the round of 16, Gregg Berhalter and his team must make a clear victory in their final group match. The final group match of the USA will be against Iran.
As for ‘The Three Lions,’ they are also not yet out of the woods. In order to ensure the survival of the team throughout the tournament, England should make sure that they win their match against Wales. As for the team, it is a bit relaxing to know that they will only be eliminated from the tournament if they lose their match against Wales by four or more goals.
Match Report
England started their match with an unchanged starting XI on Friday night. This was the first time in 53 recent matches that the tea had done this.
The England fans along with their coach Gareth Southgate expected the team to repeat the same sort of high-energy game that they played against Iran on Monday, where the team emerged victorious with an eighty win of 6-2.
But as opposed to expectations, the team struggled almost throughout the entire first half as it was clear that the team was not successful in gaining control over the match.
The first half of the game saw some golden opportunities being missed by the American players. During the 26 minutes mark, Weston Mckennie missed a chance to score a point with the cross from Timothy Weah as the shot launched by him was off target. Just about seven minutes after the miss, another American player Christian Pulisic also missed the chance as his shot faced hit the crossbar.
The final minutes before the first half saw some of the best moves from the England team. Even though they failed to score a point during the first half, the break came after Luke Shaw teed up Bukoya Saka who missed the target from just seven yards. Mason Mount also launched a magnificent effort at scoring but was saved by the American goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Ending the first half on a strong note from the English player gave hope to their fans as they expected to see the active and successful team from their previous matches.
But as the second half progressed, the match resumed the sluggish, slow pace. The England team made their first substitutions in the 68th minute. Players Jude Bellingham and Raheem Sterling were replaced by Jordan Henderson and Jack Grealish.
Even though the English players were in control of possession for more time in the second half, a well-built and strong American defense denied them from scoring a winning point. The defense from the part of the American team was so strong that Harry Kane was limited to just two shots in the whole game.
One of those shots was made during the added time. In the whole match, the UAS was able to register in shots while England only registered about eight.
After a match that would have been an easy win for the England team, fans have responded to the decision that put players like Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the team.
Even though the England coach has given his explanation about the decision, fans believe that the outcome of the match would have been quite different if the players were part of the playing XI.
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