U.S. takes big step with England draw; World Cup has deficit of star attackers

There are times when the World Cup soccer scoreboard can be fully trusted. A 7-0 thrashing or a convincing 1-0 shocker. With one game to play in the group stage, the United States men’s national team is assembling piles of confidence from nothing.

Two games, two ties, one goal scored — and yet, irrepressible hope. There’s much to be said for a 0-0 draw against England, by all evidence the superior team, and Friday’s result left the Americans knowing that their pursuit of international relevance has gained many admirers.

That includes England’s esteemed Harry Kane, who praised his opponents’ awareness, athleticism and forthright nature, and such was the general takeaway from any objective viewpoint: For long stretches of this game, the Americans had the edge.

“They were awesome today,” former USMNT star Clint Dempsey said on the postgame show. “We’re missing goals. That’s the only thing this team is missing from going to that next level.”

This is hardly a minor issue. World-class strikers are the essence of this event, and the U.S. has never had such a player. They’re lucky that Kane, a veritable goal-scoring machine, shanked a clear, free header for England in stoppage time. With Iran having defeated Wales 2-0 earlier Friday, the U.S. needs only to defeat the Iranians on Tuesday to advance into the knockout stage.

This was a terrific day for Matt Turner, who has that commanding presence of the very best goalkeepers, and for the relentless midfield brilliance of Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Yunus Musah. The face of the team, Christian Pulisic, comported himself well and nearly pulled off a miraculous goal in the 33rd minute, blasting away in tight quarters with his left (weaker) foot and seeing his shot slam off the crossbar.

In the end, on what longtime U.S. mainstay Landon Donovan called “the biggest day in U.S. national team history,” the scoreboard made clear it was something less. If you can predict where it goes from here, you are a sayer of sooth.

They just vanished

By the finish, there wasn’t a hint of shock value to Iran’s victory over Wales. Gareth Bale and the lads simply never showed up; they were dominated throughout, and the result was pure justice. Tuesday’s Iran-U.S. game figures to be far more spirited than anticipated. … The first 16 matches produced four scoreless draws — the most among any set of group stage openers in World Cup history — and four other teams were shut out. The event churns on in its passion, but here was a reminder of vacancy. The two most electrifying attackers in the world, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, aren’t playing in the World Cup because Norway and Egypt failed to qualify (Haaland was injured at the time). Injuries have sidelined France’s Karim Benzema, who won this year’s Ballon d’Or award for the most outstanding player in the world, along with Senegal’s Sadio Mane, France’s Paul Pogba, Spain’s Sergio Ramos, Germany’s Timo Werner and Brazil’s Neymar, who will miss at least the remainder of the group stage with an ankle injury. … And what’s a World Cup without Italy? The Azzurri were somehow eliminated in qualifying by North Macedonia despite a 32-4 dominance in shots taken.

So how to revive the superstar element? Surely it’s not … well, actually it Cristiano Ronaldo. At 37, and an international disgrace this summer when he quit on Manchester United (the feeling was mutual), he’s safely in his home-country comfort zone, weeping during the national anthem and a captivating spectacle once again. There’s no telling if his resurgence is sustainable, or whether his Portuguese teammates have what it takes. But their 3-2 victory over Ghana revealed that Ronaldo still has an astounding vertical leap and a precise, rocket-like shot on penalty kicks. … Does it hurt Portugal’s cause if Ronaldo once again becomes the story? “I think Cris likes to work under criticism from everyone,” said teammate Bruno Fernandes. “I pray for all of you to keep doing that, because it gets the best of himself.” … Meanwhile, the stage of soccer royalty is hardly empty, leaving Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Kevin De Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski and Luka Modric with chances to shine.

Be sure to catch Spain, so immensely entertaining in its 7-0 rout of Costa Rica. This team keeps alive the tradition of “tiki taka,” the style of play so closely associated with Barcelona in the Messi-Xavi-Iniesta years. It’s sort of a gentleman’s pinball, dozens of crisp passes setting up goals — and in that Wednesday affair, Spain became the first team ever to deliver more than a thousand passes in a 90-minute World Cup game. … Pulisic isn’t too fond of attention, but he’s part of an entertaining 30-second Michelob Ultra TV commercial in which he’s playing a frantic game of sports-bar foosball against former national women’s team icon Carli Lloyd. When the ball flies off the table, it’s deftly fielded by Guillermo Ochoa, Mexico’s longtime and current goalkeeper, who smiles and calls “next.”

Yuletide reading

Books are piling up on the 3-Dot counter, and here are a few Christmas-gift suggestions among those produced by local residents:

“Field of Play” by Michael Zagaris. So a man walks into a bar, and both Peter Frampton and Joe Montana drop everything to greet him. That’s Zagaris, the “Z-Man,” who knows in equal measure the pinnacles and shadows of rock-star music and the NFL. It’s a good thing he has documented his deep-inside adventures — first in “Total Excess” and now a 44-year career (still in progress) shooting the 49ers. There are many rave reviews about “Field of Play.” Believe every one of them.

“28: A Photographic Tribute to Buster Posey”

by Brad Mangin and Brian Murphy. In his years with Sports Illustrated, Mangin was widely known as the best baseball photographer in America. Murphy, who knows the San Francisco Giants and their history as well as anyone, provides the text along with contributions from Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, Hunter Pence and Barry Zito, among others.

“Buster” by The San Francisco Chronicle. Posey’s legendary career is captured in photos and stories from the Sporting Green’s pages over the years. Especially good reading for fans of the now-retired Henry Schulman.

“Grassroots Baseball, Route 66”

by Jean Fruth. As a photographer, Fruth has a magnificent eye for cultural signposts, kids at play, landscape and lighting. Her first such book, “Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin,” took her to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Japan, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Canada and several U.S. states to capture the essence of amateur baseball. Her latest effort charts a 2,400-mile trip across a storied American highway. Both set a compelling mood and never let go.

“Anatomy of a Champion” by Dick Gould. Rather than compile a personal recollection of his legendary, 34-year career as Stanford’s tennis coach (17 NCAA team wins, 17 more in singles and doubles), Gould leaves it primarily to his former players — all about trust, building relationships and that delicate balance between humility and an undeniable swagger. “This is an absolute gold mine,” wrote Scott Murphy, a welltraveled, Marin County-based tennis coach for 38 years, via email. “You can turn to literally every page and discover something interesting and informative.”

3-DOT LOUNGE