England must avoid a 4-0 defeat in their final group match against Wales to progress into the last-16 of the World Cup after the USA held them to a 0-0 draw.
The Three Lions have now failed to beat the Americans in all three of their meetings in the global competition.
And in truth, they were lucky to have come away from the Group B match at the Al Bayt Stadium with a point after being outclassed by Gregg Berhalter’s side.
Harry Kane spurned the first chance of the game early on after being found by Bukayo Sako, but his deflected effort trickled just wide.
But from then on it was all USA, with Timothy Weah seeing his header flash wide of the post.
Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie then smashed a half-volley over the bar after getting on the end of Sergino Dest’s cross.
And just before the break, Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic crashed a left-footed against the bar.
The second half saw fewer chances, with Harry Maguire having to dig England out with a few huge headed clearances.
Gareth Southgate’s men pushed for an unlikely late winner, and they almost got it when Kane got on the end of Luke Shaw’s free-kick.
But his free header in the final moments of the match was well wide, and replays showed that the Tottenham striker should have scored.
A win would have seen England qualify, but they must now wait until the final match to determine their fate.
England now know that a draw against Wales on Tuesday will see them safely into the last-16, with a win to confirm them as group winners.
However, they will crash out of the World Cup should Wales win by a four-goal margin after the Dragons lost 2-0 to Iran earlier on Friday.
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