US draw with England 

DOHA: The US were clearly the better side as they held fancied England to a 0-0 draw in their FIFA World Cup Group B clash at Al Bayt Stadium last night.

After their 6-2 thrashing of Iran in the opening fixture England were favourites to win the clash, garner six points and advance to the Round of 16 with one game to spare. But yesterday they were up against a US team that punched above their weight and kept their unblemished record against Three Lions at World Cups.

With the respectable draw and another 1-1 showing against Wales the US now have two points while England are with four, Iran have three and Wales none, making the rest of the matches in the group quite interesting. The US have a chance to advance when they meet Iran on Tuesday while England take on Wales later the same day.

From the first blow to the final whistle the US were the team in ascendency yesterday while England’s attacking power which was on display in abundance against Iran took a back seat. That England’s under-fire defender Harry Maguire who won his 50th cap for the country was yesterday’s hero for them says a big story. England were outthought and outplayed right throughout.

In stoppage time England had a chance to score but Harry Kane headed wide a cross from Luke Shaw.

"In the game against Iran we took our chances really well. Today we had two or three good opportunities and we didn't quite put it away," Kane told ITV after the match.

"A draw isn't the end of the world for us, it puts us in a great position in the group and we look forward to the next one.

"We know we can play better than that for sure. But it's a draw in a World Cup, there are no easy games in a World Cup. After our first performance people thought we were just going to landslide every team we play, but it's not the case." 

England's Mason Mount in action with Tyler Adams of the United States during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group B football match between England and the United States at Al Bayt Stadium on November 25, 2022. (REUTERS/Matthew Childs)

However, England will have to do a lot of soul-searching after the insipid performance.  For the US, their experienced campaigner Christian Pulisic excelled. It was sad that he could not score for Gregg Berhalter’s team which clearly was the better team.

Unites States created several chances and dominated the first session.

England goal keeper Jordan Pickford was tested several times in the half where Three Lions were surprised by a US outfit which looked menacing. Chelsea's Christian Pulisic came close to scoring for the Americans in the 33rd minute but his shot from the box hit the bar. 

Earlier, Weston McKennie had the best chance to score for the US untested but the Juventus midfielder’s chip shot went over the bar. In the 10th minute Kane was in with a chance to put England in front as he got a perfect pass from Bukayo Saka. But his first attempt at the goal for the whole tournament was deflected wide.

The US began the second half from where they stopped in the first showing intent and carrying the ball into the England half often. Maguire was called into action several times for England at the start. The Manchester United player, who has been under fire recently, did well. His header in the 60th minute off a corner beat Walker Zimmerman who was behind him waiting for an easy header at the goal.

England manager Southgate substituted Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham – two heroes the other night – with Manchester City forward Jack Grealish and Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson in the 68th minute to inject some life to the England campaign that looked wanting. Later Saka too came off. US substituted Timothy Weah with Dortmund's  Giovanni Reyna, who is the son of former US player Claudio Reyna. Josh Sargent came on for Haji Wright.

Kane recovered in time to lead England following a minor ankle injury.