England vs. USA: England’s second World Cup game was a 0-0 draw with the United States. With this result, England’s lead at the top of Group A grew by just one point.
After a great start to the World Cup against Iran, England looked like an entirely different team in the first 45 minutes against the USA. Because Gregg Berhalter’s team played so well, their pace had slowed, their passes were sloppy, and it was too easy to find holes in their shape.
Even though most people thought the USA would lose steam after the break, they kept taking the game to England, who spent too much time in their half defending their box. The United States kept trying to score as time ran out, but they were happy to tie with England for the second time in the World Cup group stages.
The USA made it clear early on what they planned to do. England didn’t mind keeping the ball and being patient when they were under pressure. In the first 10 minutes, they had to stay close together until a nice move by Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka led to a square ball for Harry Kane.
Walker Zimmerman blocked his shot, but the chance swung the game in England’s favor. They worked patiently around an aggressive press after that. But England’s patience quickly turned into complacency. The USA countered quickly and looked like they were going to score every time they had time around England’s 18-yard box, but Matt Turner in their goal was not bothered.
After 26 minutes, Weston McKennie broke free inside the box to finish a slow move, but his shot exceeded the goal. Then, Christian Pulisic missed the best chance of the half when, from outside the box, he hit the crossbar after more good possession by the U.S. at the expense of England’s sloppiness.
England was lucky to go into halftime tied since they couldn’t get past the USA’s back line or even play through their well-trained pressing shape. They had been given plenty of warnings and lost the ball more than once. Mason Mount finally made Turner make a save at the end of the first half after England hadn’t done much for 45 minutes. This was a good example of how weak England played.
England needed a “rocket” during the halftime break, but it didn’t look like it happened. At the start of the second half, they made the same mistakes they did in the first.
Berhalter’s team moved the ball much better and was set up well to stop England, which was still too slow with the ball and didn’t know how to break through the lines. Around the hour mark, Pulisic had way too much time and space to cut inside and fire a shot just wide of Jordan Pickford’s post, and he should have. With a better pass, the USA could have gone ahead.
As the game continued, it looked like the USA was getting stronger and stronger. England couldn’t keep the ball and couldn’t get close to the other team.
With just over 20 minutes left, Southgate had seen enough and asked Jack Grealish and Jordan Henderson to get England back into the game. Even though they were able to get them to have more control of the ball, they still couldn’t stretch the USA or get into the penalty area.
With time running out, England still hadn’t figured out how to get behind their well-trained opponents. Instead, they spent more time passing the ball around the back, and when they moved forward without a plan, they lost possession.
In extra time, England’s best chance of the night came when Kane missed a free kick from Luke Shaw. It was a moment that showed not only how bad they were but also how bad they were at being creative and brave.
Although a draw doesn’t necessarily hurt England’s chances of winning the group, the team’s performance makes it seem more like a defeat than a win. In contrast, the Americans had every reason to be proud of their performance, even if they were disappointed not to come away with a victory.
Player ratings for England vs. USA in Group B of the World Cup
1. England (4-3-3)
GK: 6/10 for Jordan Pickford. He told his outfielders more than once that he didn’t like them, and he was right to do so.
RB: Kieran Trippier, 4/10. He was sloppy with the ball and often didn’t pay attention, which left Saka alone when England was trying to stop the USA. So bad at making progress, if you can even call it that.
CB: John Stones – 5/10 – He was more at ease than his teammate when he had the ball, but he was often too at ease. Has to move the ball quicker.
CB: Harry Maguire, 5 out of 10 – When he is challenged in a test of speed or sharpness, England looks in trouble immediately. At least he thought about everything.
LB: Luke Shaw, 6/10. In the first half, he was England’s best pass receiver. How to make trouble for the USA when on the overlap.
CM: Declan Rice – 5/10 – Too afraid to play a pass between the lines. He wasn’t helped because his midfield teammates charged forward, and the other team’s press seemed to throw him off.
CM: Jude Bellingham got a 5/10 because his first touch sometimes let him down, but he showed glimpses of what he can do. After the break, it got a lot worse.
CM: Mason Mount – 3/10 – Swallowed up by the occasion completely.
RW: Bukayo Saka got a 5/10 because it was too easy to get around when pressed.
ST: Harry Kane, 6 out of 10 – He did try. He didn’t get any service at all, but when he did, he did everything right.
Raheem Sterling, left-wing, got a 5/10. His story was a lot like Kane’s. He wasn’t allowed to touch the ball or run at defenders inside the box.
Jack Grealish came in for Sterling at minute 68. – 6/10 – Attracted players towards him, as he does.
Jordan Henderson came on in place of Bellingham (in the 69th minute) and joined the other players who were aimlessly passing the ball around the back. He got a score of 5/10.
SUB: Marcus Rashford (78′ for Saka) – N/A – Since it was added so late and England couldn’t play vertically, it had no chance of making a difference.
Manager: Gareth Southgate – 4/10 – You can trust your team without being too afraid to take risks. It was clear that change was needed as soon as five minutes into the second half, but Southgate didn’t call on his bench until the 68th minute. Needs to take more responsibility.
2. USA (4-3-3) (4-3-3)
GK: Matt Turner, 6/10. Looked natural between the sticks as number one. He had good hands and did his job when he was asked to.
One of the two fullbacks for the USMNT, Sergio Dest, received a score of 6/10 for showing glimpses of his talent but mostly being somewhat quiet.
CB: Walker Zimmerman (7/10): Kane was stopped by a great block from Zimmerman early in the game.
CB: Tim Ream – 6/10 – Confident performance from the Fulham man.
Antonee Robinson left back and got a 7/10 because he helped his team get out of England’s press and helped them overload in wide areas.
CM: Weston McKennie (7/10): He kept his cool when the ball was in his possession and made extra touches when the USA needed to stay in charge. After 26 minutes, they really should have hit the goal.
Tyler Adams, the center midfielder, got an 8/10. He moved up well before his defenders and kept England’s midfielders quiet. Mature performance.
CM: Yunus Musah – 7/10 – An industrious performance – impressive.
RW: Tim Weah, 6/10. His team’s best play came from the other side of the field.
ST: Haji Wright, 6/10. He had a hard time getting past England’s two centre-backs, but he did catch Harry Maguire off guard early on.
LW: Christian Pulisic is a 6/10. They were so unlucky not to score in the first half, but things were pretty quiet after that.
Brenden Aaronson came on for McKennie in the 77th minute and kept pressing until the end of the game.
SUB: Shaq Moore (78′ for Dest) – N/A
Giovanni Reyna came in for Weah in the 83rd minute.
Josh Sargent came on for Wright in the 83rd minute.
Manager: Gregg Berhalter – 7/10 – He did a great job setting up his team and wasn’t afraid to take the game to England. Just too bad they couldn’t take advantage of the key chances they did make.
Tyler Adams was the best player in the game.
