England slumbered to a 0-0 draw with the United States in their second World Cup showing, extending their lead atop of Group A by just a point following a turgid performance.
After a blistering start to their World Cup campaign against Iran, England looked an entirely different team in the opening 45 minutes against the USA. The tempo had dropped, passes were wayward and gaps were being found in their shape all too easily, thanks to an impressive showing from Gregg Berhalter’s side.
While many would’ve expected the USA to falter after the break, they continued to take the game to England, who spent much too much time locked inside their own half defending their box. As the clock ticked down, the States continued to probe, but were happy to draw with England for a second time in the World Cup group stages.
The USA made their intentions clear early on. Unafraid to retain possession and show patience in high pressure areas, England had to stay compact inside the opening 10 minutes, before a neat passage of play between Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka generated a square ball for Harry Kane.
His effort was blocked by Walker Zimmerman, but the chance swung momentum into England’s favour, who probed patiently around an aggressive press. Patience quickly turned into complacency, however; the USA countered sharply and looked like scoring whenever they had time around England’s 18-yard box, while Matt Turner remained untroubled in their goal.
Weston McKennie wriggled free inside the box after 26 minutes to get on the end of a patient move, but fired his shot over the target. Christian Pulisic then missed the chance of the half, rattling the crossbar from outside of the box following more neat possession at the expense of England’s sloppiness.
Unable to break beyond the USA’s back line or even play through their well-drilled pressing shape, England were fortunate to head into the break level, having had plenty of warnings and been caught in possession on more than one occasion. Mason Mount finally forced a save from Turner on the cusp of the interval, having barely made a splash for 45 minutes; a summary of England’s lacking and timid performance.
The proverbial rocket that England definitely needed during the interval didn’t appear to happen, with the start of the second half echoing their pitfalls from the first.
Berhalter’s side moved the ball much more smoothly and were set up well to snuff out England, who were still too laboured in possession and unsure how to…
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