England 0-0 USA – World Cup 2022: Three Lions stumble to nervous draw
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No rest for the timid. The hope that England could qualify for the round of 16, win the group with a game to spare, and allow players a breather before the knock-out round commenced, evaporated north of Doha with a performance as tame and lame as Monday’s win over Iran was boldly impressive.
Here, England reverted to this year’s type. They were slow, cautious and made to look ordinary by a United States team that was bright and energised but, again, failed to win.
Gregg Berhalter’s players had the best chances and the best of the game but have scored just once in two matches and will go out if they fail to beat Iran next week.
United States largely outplayed England in their World Cup clash as Harry Kane looks on after missing a late chance to score
Furious England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford barks orders at his defence on a frustrating night for the Three Lions in Qatar
With England lacking creativity, there was surprise that Manchester City star Phil Foden (centre) was not called upon
England were poor but know they just have to avoid a bad defeat by Wales in their final group game to progress
England remain in charge of the group but are vulnerable to a defeat in a final match with Wales in which it is feared form could go out of the window, trumped by passion, emotion and the nagging suspicion Gareth Bale has a date with destiny.
Lose and, if the other game has a winner, England are relegated to second spot in the group and in all likelihood a second round meeting with Holland, who should top Group A with a win over Qatar.
And while defeat would still count as a huge shock – Wales have been very poor in this tournament so far – the confidence that followed England’s opener drained from those invested in Gareth Southgate’s team as it laboured to gain a foothold in this match.
Bright starts in each half soon evaporated and when Southgate made his first changes after 69 minutes, one of them was to introduce Jordan Henderson for Jude Bellingham in the heart of midfield. The young man, a star of the group opener, was struggling here and his coach clearly wanted the Liverpool captain’s experience to make sure the damage was limited to two points dropped, not three.
Christian Pulisic (10) had the best chance of the game for the USA, rattling the crossbar with a rising first half effort in Al Khor
Weston McKennie reacts after missing an excellent chance to fire USA in front having fired a half-volley over the crossbar
Jack Grealish came on for Raheem Sterling and immediately looked livelier on the flank, but there is no escaping that this was a dreadfully below par performance, a slap in the face after the promise of game one.
England could have won it in injury time when Harry Kane misdirected a header from a Luke Shaw free-kick but, had it gone in, the win would hardly have been merited.
With the possible exception of Harry Maguire and John Stones – Maguire has now repelled with more headers than any player in the tournament – nobody looked entirely comfortable. Even goalkeeper Jordan Pickford flapped at a second-half corner from Christian Pulisic, in totally unnecessary fashion.
Southgate will see silver linings, as managers do, and one was certainly the steadfast displays of the centre-backs, who largely saw off the fear England would concede late and lose.
Yet was this the work of potential champions, given what we have seen of France, Spain and Brazil? No, it was not.
It was a sobering experience, and the idea that England could coast into the last 16, rested, fresh and buoyant, proved a fanciful one. It’s a nail biter next Tuesday and little that England did here will have convinced Wales they are not in with more than a puncher’s chance of – if not qualifying, because they would need to win 4-0 – certainly messing with England’s long term prospects.
England came under bombardment for much of the game but excellent defending from Harry Maguire (6) kept USA at bay
Mason Mount had England’s best opportunity to score in the first half but his low shot on goal was well saved by Matt Turner
Kane at times had to play as a defender for England as he robs Pulisic of the ball inside the Three Lions’ penalty box
A draw was the fair result but the United States will be far happier with their performance – graphic from Sofascore
It is three World Cup meetings for these nations now and for all the presumption of superiors and inferiors, football-playing aristocrats versus soccer ball upstarts, England are yet to win. P3 W0 D2 L1 F1 A2, that is England’s record against the United States. Not the best, is it? And while the modern United States may still be considered underdogs against the best sides in Europe that significantly understates their abilities.
They’re awkward. Hard running, high pressing, no little danger, too. The days when the best American players could only get a game at Coventry, or Luton, have long passed. These days, they are as likely to play in the Champions League with Chelsea, or Borussia Dortmund, and it showed.
England started well, dominated the early exchanges, but after 15 minutes began to lose the midfield and didn’t truly get it back for the rest of the match.
Berhalter’s side hit the bar, forced the odd save from Pickford and had good chances that missed the target. On points, they were the better team. England only came back into it late in each half. It was a sobering experience after the six-goal euphoria of the win over Iran, but the United States are a better side no matter what the form line of the two non-European teams in Group B suggests.
Jude Bellingham struggled to make an impact in England’s midfield and was substituted during the second half
Southgate would have been far from happy with his side’s poor performance following on from a 6-2 victory over Iran
Whereas Iran sat back, the States got on the front foot, allowing England no time on the ball and threatening down the flanks. It looked promising after nine minutes when Bellingham slipped a pass through to Bukayo Saka, who cut the ball back to Kane. Walker Zimmerman – in the minority of American players, forging a career in Major League Soccer with Nashville SC – did well to block, when England’s captain looked poised to score his first goal of the tournament.
And that was it, for around 36 minutes, until a fabulous run by Luke Shaw put in Saka who shot over from close range. A minute later, Mason Mount had a shot tipped round by Matt Turner in America’s goal. Between those episodes it was USA all the way.
As crummy sports chants go, one of America’s favourites – the win song – ranks among the worst. ‘We believe that we will win,’ chorus the fans. Really, and who the hell are you exactly, think the rest of the stadium. It’s vague, generic, unspecific and to English ears inspired little bar derision. The team, however, was made of sterner stuff.
The supporters may espouse chuckle-headed optimism but the players tried to do something concrete instead. From the 17th minute, when Haji Wright got in front of Maguire and headed just wide, to the 43rd when an attempted header from Christian Pulisic was misjudged, came off his shoulder but still skirted Pickford’s goal, the USA were a threat.
Kane and McKennie battle for the ball during England’s record 12th goalless draw at the World Cup finals
After an impressive display, Sergino Dest (2) was forced off injured late on for the United States in the Group B encounter
They had dominated Wales in their first group game and seized the narrative here, too. Players who looked so assured against Iran, like Bellingham and Declan Rice, were stretched. Others, like Kieran Trippier, were diving in, anxiously, to extinguish fires.
In the 25th minute, a lovely cross from the right by Timothy Weah was met on the half volley by Weston McKennie, of Juventus. From the upper tiers the pitch looked lush but some of the technical failings suggested it had its own challenges and McKennie got under the ball and sent it soaring over the bar.
Just three minutes later a shot by Yunus Musah – the one that got away, having represented England at age group level for four years while playing his football at Arsenal – had the sting removed from it by Rice and proved an easy collect for Pickford. The next attack brought more of a challenge, Pickford nowhere as a left foot shot from Pulisic ricocheted off the bar. England were pushed ever deeper into their own half.
The excellent Sergino Dest of AC Milan then cut inside from the right flank, only for his shot to be deflected over and, while England started the second-half better, a wonderful tackle by Leeds’ Tyler Adams on Saka, encapsulated the difference in energy levels between the teams, England once again reverting to a tepid ponderousness when challenged. Do Southgate’s team believe that they could win? They need to start playing like it, then.
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