England remained top of Group B after an uneventful goalless draw against the United States today.
It was a quiet first half, during which the Stars and Stripes came closest to opening the scoring. Christian Pulisic was within inches of netting the opener, firing a powerful effort against the crossbar from a tight angle.
Meanwhile, Weston McKennie also had a wonderful chance. Yunus Musah picked him out with a cross, but the midfielder could only strike over the bar.
The Three Lions looked way off their best but managed to carve out a couple of opportunities just before the break. Bukayo Saka blazed over after some fine work from Luke Shaw, and Mason Mount had a low drive well saved by Matt Turner.
The second half continued in similar fashion, with the US looking the more likely of the two sides to breaking the deadlock. However, neither team was able to fashion anything of note.
That was until the third minute of injury time when England had their best opportunity of the match. Harry Kane got his head on Shaw’s cross, but skewed his attempt well wide when he ought to have hit the target.
The draw leaves England almost certain to progress to the round of 16, and a win against Wales will secure top spot in the group. As for the US, a win against Iran will guarantee their place in the knockout stage, but anything less will see them eliminated.
England
Jordan Pickford (6/10) – Rarely called into action. Sometimes looked a bit shaky from crosses, but distribution was good.
Kieran Trippier (5/10) – Misplaced a few passes and wasn’t at his best going forward.
John Stones (7/10) – Dealt with the threat of Wright fairly well. Good on the ball.
Harry Maguire (8/10) – Crucial to England’s clean sheet. Won every header and played a number of good passes.
Luke Shaw (7/10) – Didn’t let Weah beat him. Created two of England’s best chances.
Declan Rice (5/10) – Looked way off the pace. Wasn’t positive enough on the ball.
Jude Bellingham (6/10) – Showed glimpses of his technical quality, but wasn’t able to have much of an impact.
Mason Mount (4/10) – Bizarrely stayed on for the full 90 minutes. Seemed to get everything wrong aside from one shot in the first half.
Bukayo Saka (5/10) – Created one chance early on for Kane and could have scored just before half time. Otherwise fairly uninvolved.
Harry Kane (4/10) – Couldn’t get himself involved in the game. Wasted England’s best chance right at the death with a terribly misjudged header.
Raheem Sterling (4/10) – Failed to show much threat in his 68 minutes on the pitch.
Substitutes
Jordan Henderson (5/10)
Jack Grealish (5/10)
Marcus Rashford (5/10)
US
Matt Turner (7/10) – Made one good save from Mount. Claimed several crosses.
Sergino Dest (7/10) – Managed to nullify the threat of Sterling. Got into some good areas going forward.
Walker Zimmerman (7/10) – Made one key block early on from Kane. Generally got the better of the England captain.
Tim Ream (7/10) – Played his part in shutting down England’s frontline.
Antonee Robinson (6/10) – Occasionally got caught out down his side, but didn’t let too much past him. Didn’t offer too much going forward.
Tyler Adams (8/10) *MOTM* – Ran the show against Bellingham and Rice. Energetic, combative, and good in possession.
Weston McKennie (7/10) – Looked bright on the ball and provided plenty of energy. Missed a great chance in the first half.
Yunus Musah (7/10) – Created arguably the best chance of the game for McKennie. A bright performance.
Timothy Weah (5/10) – Kept fairly quiet. Rarely looked like scoring and didn’t create a whole lot.
Haji Wright (5/10) – Linked up well at times, but lost most of his battles with England’s centre-backs.
Christian Pulisic (7/10) – The livewire in USA’s attack. Unlucky not to score with a thunderous strike in the first half.
Substitutes
Brendan Aaronson (6/10)
Shaq Moore (6/10)
Giovanni Reyna (5/10)
Josh Sargent (5/10)
