A draw meant England had yet to secure a place in the round of 16 despite retaining top spot in the group standings after two rounds of matches. England have four points from two games thanks to a win and a draw, while the United States remained third with two points from two draws.
As it happened | Schedule and result | Points table
Iran are second with three points with Wales bottom with one point and any results are still possible before the final round of matches.
A 6-2 thrashing against Iran on Monday sent fans’ hopes soaring, but Gareth Southgate’s side were lucky not to suffer a repeat of their 1950 World Cup calamity against the Americans.
Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic hit the crossbar for the USA and they failed to take a stack of chances in the first half against an England side locked in second gear.
He ends up squarely between England and the USA. One point apiece for keeping things tight in Group B.@adidasfootball | #Fifa World Cup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) 1669411080000
Captain of England Harry Kane was limited to half chances while England’s closest to goal was a Mason Mount effort on the stroke of half-time.
For the first time in 54 games, England manager Gareth Southgate named an unchanged starting line-up, but before half-time they were unrecognizable for the side who scored six goals against Iran in their first leg. ‘opening.
They had the first chance as Kane’s shot on goal was blocked by Walker Zimmerman and flew wide, but after that they ceded control to the young USA team of five who ply their trade in England.
Haji Wright, the only change to Gregg Berhalter’s line-up since the draw with Wales, went wide and England had a huge release when Weston McKennie fired a half-volley.
Juventus’ McKennie, sporting a red, white and blue hairstyle, then kicked off another move with a sweeping run before the ball was passed to Pulisic who crushed an angled left kick against the bar in the 33rd minute .
The odds continued to flow for a deft USA team before halftime with Sergino Dest threatening after a weaving run and Pulisic scuffing a header wide.
England finally awoke from their slumber just before the break with Bukayo Saka netting a shot past the USA keeper Matt Turner was forced into his first save of the game, pushing Mount’s drilled low shot around the post.
Southgate resisted the temptation to make changes at half-time but the pattern quickly resumed with Pulisic having a deflected shot wide and from the England defender from the corner Harry Maguire made a crucial intervention with Tim Ream in hiding.
He eventually turned to his bench and brought in experienced midfielder Jordan Henderson and the mercurial Jack Greish but to little effect as the game collapsed.
While the result and performance were hopelessly disappointing, England stayed in the box to reach the knockout stages. The United States will go into their final game against Iran knowing that a win could take them through to the next round. England will face Wales in their final group game on Wednesday.
(With agency contributions)
