USMNT Stares Down England in Hard-Fought World Cup Draw
After going toe-to-toe with the Three Lions, the U.S. knows exactly what it needs to do to advance to the knockout stage in Qatar.
Over three games spanning 72 years, the U.S. men’s national team is still undefeated vs. England in World Cup play.
The two sides played to a spirited 0–0 draw at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Kohr in a Black Friday showdown that did not disappoint, even if goals didn’t materialize. After England enjoyed the better of the run of play at the start, it was the U.S. that appeared the more comfortable of the two after the 20-minute mark, weathering the storm and then barking back. Its best chances came from Weston McKennie, who skied both of his opportunities, and Christian Pulisic, who rattled the crossbar with a left-footed blast, but neither side could find a breakthrough, and each takes a point heading into the final game of group play.
With one game to go, all four teams in Group B are alive. England tops the group with four points, followed by Iran with three, the U.S. with two and Wales with one.
The draw, the first scoreless draw in the U.S.’s World Cup history, follows a famous U.S. victory in 1950, authored by Joe Gaetjens, and a 2010 draw in South Africa, and it’s a notch on the belt for a young team still learning to win at the highest levels against the best competition.
The U.S.’s World Cup fate will come down to its final group game against Iran on Tuesday, while England will wrap up against Wales, having not yet qualified for the knockout stage either.
Here are three thoughts on the draw:
No cost for no rotation—yet
The U.S. kept 10 of the same starters from the team that settled for a draw against Wales, risking fatigue and yellow-card suspension ahead of the group finale. Only Haji Wright, starting at center forward over Josh Sargent, was different. We’ve seen this from Gregg Berhalter before. In the last World Cup qualifying window, after the U.S. had beaten Panama to move to the cusp of qualification, he had a decision to make: rotate his squad on short rest and long travel to play Mexico at altitude at Eztadio Azteca or go for it in Mexico, knowing there would be a gassed set of first-choice players for the finale at Costa Rica, which may or may not wind up with high stakes attached to it. Berhalter opted for the latter, and it paid off. The U.S. got a point in Mexico, and it proved decisive to secure automatic qualification.
We won’t know the physical toll this match took on the team until we see who is selected on Tuesday vs. Iran and how they fare, but no player on a yellow card picked up a second, and the U.S. performance was pretty spot-on. In hindsight as of now, it’s hard to argue with the selections, but if weary legs cost the U.S. against Iran, then there will be some second-guessing to do about the squad selection, considering that even with a loss on Friday, the U.S. would have had a way through.
The big question will continue to revolve around Gio Reyna, who featured for just the final seven minutes plus stoppage time on Friday after missing the Wales match entirely. He was deemed available for both games so far, yet has barely played. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Berhalter looked at the compressed schedule, looked at Reyna's injury history over the last year and concluded that featuring him in each game was not going to end well. After all, his playing in consecutive friendlies in September resulted in a minor injury setback. Come Tuesday, he could be unleashed.
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An impressive showing, but an inability to finish
It has long been documented how young and inexperienced this U.S. team is, and that manifested itself in the opening match against Wales—the U.S. had a stranglehold on the match, even took the lead, but then wilted and ultimately broke, conceding the equalizer. It was a winnable match, but the proficiency in transition and in the final third was lacking. Just in the same way the U.S. would’ve benefitted from a better final ball, the U.S. is still missing that final touch to take the next leap.
For the last 25 minutes of the first half, for instance, the U.S. outplayed England considerably. The best chances of the game fell to the U.S. The crossbar was rattled by the U.S. The team that looked most confident was the U.S. It was everything Berhalter has preached regarding a mission to change the way the world views this team—save for the goals. It carried over into the second half as well, with relentless pressure resulting in corner kick after corner kick, requiring Harry Maguire to make clearance after clearance and even Harry Kane to chip in defensively.
The confidence and swagger levels were evident well, whether it was McKennie using a photographer’s bib in jest to wipe off a ball before a throw-in, or Pulisic hyping up the U.S. crowd ahead of every corner, or Tyler Adams making a perfectly-timed tackle to take the ball off Bukayo Saka and letting out a cathartic roar. There was so much to like about this performance from a U.S. perspective. All that was missing was the final piece.
Where the U.S. goes from here
The stakes are clear for the U.S.: Beat Iran on Tuesday, or go home after three matches, with important experience accrued before co-hosting in 2026, but nothing tangible to show for it in 2022. That means the New Zealand scenario is in play. In 2010, the All Whites drew Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia and were the only team to finish the World Cup unbeaten. That’s small consolation for a three-and-out ticket home, though.
The U.S. at least doesn’t have to concern itself with what’s going on in the other simultaneous finale. There won’t be any scoreboard watching necessary as England and Wales meet, as regardless of what happens there, the U.S. will go through as long as victory vs. Iran is secured. But as the last two games have showed, it’s going to require that finishing touch to keep the knockout dream alive.