No foregone conclusion
England legit contender, but not looking past US
England scored six goals in its opening World Cup game against Iran, but it was the two it conceded that concern coach Gareth Southgate and provide hope for the United States.
“By the end we looked sloppy,” said Southgate of the 6-2 win over Iran on Monday. He also warned the U.S. would be coming “full-throttle” in Friday’s Group B match.
The tournament has already produced some shocking results, including Saudi Arabia’s win against Argentina and Japan’s upset over Germany.
A win for the U.S. over England would not be on the scale of Saudi Arabia’s win — but Gregg Berhalter’s team is undoubtedly the underdog against one of the tournament favorites.
The two goals conceded against Iran gave Southgate something to focus on in an otherwise encouraging performance.
His message to the players has been clear: They will need to be better against the U.S. team that tied 1-1 with Wales in its opening group game.
“They’re a top nation with a lot of top players who have played in the Premier League and who we’ve come up against,” said England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. “But it’s about us as a squad being 100%. It’s about us taking the result from Iran and going into the U.S. game positive.”
One of those Premier League players is Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic, a point of focus for England’s defense.
“He’s good with both feet, very clinical,” Pickford said. “We’ve got to be wary of him.”
A win for England would see it qualify for the round of the 16 with a game still to play — but the fate of Lionel Messi and Argentina is proof nothing can be taken for granted.
“It’s what World Cup football is all about,” said Pickford. “There are going to be surprises.”
U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner is predicting more of them at the World Cup.
“You see that the world of football is levelling out in a lot of ways,” he said. “Teams have game plans. Teams have been investing in their youth academies over a number of years.”
“I think the message is when you have one team that’s bought into the same message, you can beat anyone on any given day.”
The U.S. famously beat England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup and the teams tied 1-1 in 2010.
If the U.S. is to produce the latest surprise of this year’s tournament, it will have to contain an England attack that was ruthless in the match against Iran.
Another record for Ronaldo: Cristiano Ronaldo closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and then made World Cup history.
The Portugal striker became the first male player to score at five World Cups with his 65th-minute penalty in a 3-2 Group H win over Ghana.
“This was a beautiful moment,” said the 37-year-old Ronaldo, who’s likely playing in his final World Cup. “The world record, the only player to score in five World Cups, makes me very proud.”
He has now scored in every World Cup since his first in 2006, when a penalty against Iran started his run of goals in the tournament that’s now up to eight in 18 matches. He has a men’s record 118 international goals.
South Korea, Uruguay play to draw:
Another favored team has failed to impress in the early stages of the World Cup.
This time it was South Korea holding South American power Uruguay to a 0-0 draw in a Group H match, a result that probably favors the Asian team.
South Korea, with forward Son Heung-min wearing a mask to protect a broken left eye socket, always looked the more likely to score against the more experienced Uruguayans. The South Koreans were quicker, pressing from the opening whistle.
Embolo shows respect: Born in Cameroon but playing for Switzerland, of course Breel Embolo would score when those two countries met at the World Cup.
Embolo promised he wouldn’t celebrate if he scored for the Swiss team against his country of birth, and he kept his word.
It turned out to be the only goal of the match as Switzerland beat Cameroon 1-0 in a Group G match.
“I would have liked him to be on my side,” said Cameroon coach Rigobert Song, who played in four World Cups for his home country, “but that’s not the way it went.”