USA impress as they hold England to draw, keep last 16 hopes alive

The USA impressed massively as Gregg Berhalter’s young side drew 0-0 with England and were unlucky not to win their Group B game.

FULL MATCH REPLAY

Christian Pulisic hit the crossbar in the first half and Weston McKennie should have put them ahead as the young Americans were by far the more aggressive team.

England went close through Harry Kane, Mason Mount and then Kane sent a header wide in second half stoppage time but in truth a draw was probably the fair result.

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That leaves England top of Group B and only need to lose by less than four goals against Wales to reach the last 16, while the USA now know a win against Iran in their final game will also see them reach the knockout rounds.

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Energy, grit sees USA almost upset England and set up epic Iran clash

This was so much better than expected from the USA. From start to finish they had more energy, more creativity and took the game to England. Not content with just getting a draw, they were the only team really pushing for the win. It was impressive to see from such a young team and Gregg Berhalter should be praised for the unit he has built. Every single player knew their job and the inclusion of Haji Wright up top helped give the USMNT a focal point and gave their wingers and full backs more time to cut inside and cause problems out wide.

England were bad, very bad, but they just couldn’t cope with the USMNT’s press. Now we will find out if this all-energy display can be replicated against a very experienced Iran side in four days’ time as the equation is very simple for the USMNT: win and they’re in the last 16. Ahead of the tournament every U.S. fan, player and coach would have snapped your hand off if you offered them that deal.

Story continues

Stars of the show

Antonee Robinson: What a display down the left as he shut down Bukayo Saka and gave the U.S. options going forward. He and Dest offered so much on the ball.

Tyler Adams: The captain led by example and led the press which rattled England. Adams is the heartbeat of this team and everyone feeds off his fire he brings.

How to watch England vs USA live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 2pm ET – Friday, November 25 
Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
TV channels en Español: Telemundo
Streaming en Español: Peacock (all 64 matches)

Full time! England 0-0 USA – The U.S. will be delighted with that result but most importantly that performance. What a moment for the young squad.

A very even second half and England are really struggling to get any momentum.

Half time! England 0-0 USA – A very good first from the USMNT who had the better chances. Mason Mount had a decent chance late on but Matt Turner made a good stop. Very impressive from Gregg Berhalter.

Close! Weston McKennie has a great chance and should score. Brilliant cross from Weah and McKennie puts it over.

A decent start from the USMNT. Very solid. Harry Kane’s blocked shot the only chance of the game.

Hello and welcome to everyone on Black Friday! Here we go then. The months of build up are over. England vs USA is here. Gareth Southgate has named an unchanged team for the first time in 53 games. Gregg Berhalter has made one change with Haji Wright coming in for Josh Sargent up top. All of the talking is done. Let the action begin.

Key storylines, players to watch closely

Berhalter is under pressure to start the likes of Brenden Aaronson and Gio Reyna (who didn’t feature at all against Wales despite being 100 percent fit) as the USMNT have to make more of winning the ball high up the pitch. They did that time and time again against Wales and should have been up by a couple of goals before the Welsh made a tactical change which Berhalter didn’t react well to. Getting Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah to combine in the final third is going to be key and the USA will have to keep the ball better than they did against Wales if they’re going to get anything out of this game. However, the USA did beat England at the 1950 World Cup in one of the biggest shocks in history and they drew 1-1 in 2010 when they last met in this tournament. Gregg Berhalter has confirmed that McKennie and Dest are both ‘fine’ and that Reyna’s omission against Wales was a ‘coaches decision’ and he is available to play against England.

The Three Lions were irresistible in attack against Iran and Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane linked up so well. However, there was an injury concern around Kane as he had a scan on an ankle knock ahead of this clash but he is fit to play. Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice were excellent in central midfield but England did look a little shaky at center back in the second half. The fact England could bring on Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford off the bench in attack shows their incredible squad depth. Harry Maguire is also fit, so too is Kyle Walker after he missed the last few months through injury.

England vs USA head-to-head

• This is the 12th meeting all-time between the USA and England. The U.S. is 2-8-1 overall (W-L-D)

• It is the third meeting between these teams at the FIFA World Cup

• The U.S. won famously in 1950, and drew against England in the group stage of the 2010 World Cup

Gareth Southgate confirms Harry Kane’s fitness, facing USA

“Harry is fine. He has worked slightly separately from the group but all good for Friday night,” Southgate said. “He had a scan [on Wednesday] to make sure everything is fine.”

“We have to make sure we are back to the psychological place we were at the start because the States will be an athletic team, press really well, be organised, well coached. They have quite a few players we know from the Premier League and they showed in the first half against Wales the best side of themselves,” Southgate added.

Gregg Berhalter on Southgate, power of the Premier League, “Golden Generation” tag

“Every Saturday morning Americans are watching the league and then seeing all the fan festivals, it’s an incredible league. We’re really proud to have our players playing there. To me, it’s similar to the NFL in terms of how dominant it is,” Berhalter added.

England quick facts

Current FIFA world ranking: 5
World Cup titles: 1 (1966)
World Cup appearances: 15
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from UEFA
Coach: Gareth Southgate
Key players: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Pickford

USA quick facts

Current FIFA world ranking: 16
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 9
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from CONCACAF (3rd place)
Coach: Gregg Berhalter
Key players: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams

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USA impress as they hold England to draw, keep last 16 hopes alive originally appeared on NBCSports.com