Star- studded USA serve notice to rest of the world with stalemate
England 0 USA 0
IN past iterations of the World Cup, the US team has often found itself met with the same sort of reverence usually reserved for games of five- aside down the local park. Between baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American football, there has generally been a sense on these shores that our transatlantic cousins have never really caught the bug of football fever. Those days are long gone now.
If England supporters were expecting an easy ride from a nation that isn’t even a ‘ football country’, they received a helluva nasty shock last night. Rather than being presented with an opposition made up of largely unknown, mid- ranking players, the Three Lions found themselves taking on a side littered with players plying their trade at the very highest level in Europe.
Arsenal, Milan, Celta Vigo, Juventus, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Lille are just some of the clubs represented in the American squad this time around – and this step up in standards has left the US as a talented team that will cause problems for most.
The point earned last night wasn’t enough to secure a place in the knockout rounds for the States – their opening game with Wales finished 1- 1 – but on this evidence, they should not have too much difficulty in negotiating their way through to the last 16.
It became apparent within minutes that Gareth Southgate’s men were in for a game here. If Iran were somewhat hospitable for England’s opening fixture in Qatar, the Americans were anything but. Boasting one of the youngest squads at the tournament, they were vibrant and lively in possession whilst being determined and dogged out of it.
England had started brightly, still buoyed by their 6- 2 trashing of Iran a few days previous, but that early enthusiasm soon waned as wave after wave of attack was repelled with minimal fuss. At the other end, the US were getting into dangerous areas, and no one came closer to breaking the deadlock than Chelsea attacker Christian Pulisic, whose clever improvised finish beat goalkeeper Jordan Pickford before ricocheting clear off the crossbar.
By the time the half- time whistle rang out at the Al Bayt Stadium, Southgate could be forgiven for feeling a little nervy. His side looked short of ideas as the first period ended – while, somewhat ominously, their opponents’ confidence was evidently growing – and he wouldn’t be human if history was not playing on his mind. After all, the US have been responsible for two of the England team’s darkest chapters – a 1- 0 defeat at Brazil 1950 and a 1- 1 draw in South Africa in 2010.
If those thoughts weren’t racing through Southgate’s mind at the break, they surely were upon the restart. It was the Americans who were attempting to seize the initiative and asking questions of their opponents.
Jack Grealish and Jordan Henderson were brought on with 20 minutes to go as Southgate shuffled the deck with mixed results. Grealish looked bright after entering the fray, regularly taking on his man and adding some desperately required creativity.
As the clock wound down, England upped the intensity but it made little difference in the end. By the time the contest ended, US goalkeeper Matt Turner had only made a grand total of two saves. Neither effort at goal ever looked like seriously troubling him.
When the United States secured that 1- 1 draw back in 2010, the mood back home was positively euphoric – so much so that one American newspaper even proudly declared ‘ USA win 1- 1’ on its front page – but this stalemate is unlikely to prompt similar scenes of celebration across the pond.
That Gregg Berhalter’s charges can feel genuinely disappointed at only picking up a point last night shows how far they have come in the intervening 12 years. A winner- takesall final- round match with Iran awaits on Tuesday; there is no better time for them to demonstrate their credentials as a force to be taken seriously once and for all.