\u201cThere’s a lot of people that obviously thought we were going to get blown out,\u201d McKennie said. \u201cThere’s a lot of people in the outside world who thought we were obvious underdogs, but for us, we didn’t feel like an underdog at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Culpepper on the Three Lions: For all England’s star power, a World Cup win over US remains elusive<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The United States is 2-8-2 all time against England, with the previous victory coming 29 years ago, but in three World Cup meetings, it’s unbeaten (1-0-2). In this clash, there was no telling the blue bloods from the upstarts, the team stacked with expensive international stars from the international novices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis team has come a very long way, and we should be proud of the performance,\u201d Pulisic said. \u201cMost of all, it should spark confidence and it should give us a great feeling going into this last match that’s a must-win for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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England set the tone, but it wasn’t long before US spells of optimism gave way to sustained possession and two glorious opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Unmarked nine yards from the target, McKennie missed badly. He grabbed his wedge of red-white-and-blue dyed hair in frustration, knowing such chances would probably be rare.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Seven minutes later, Pulisic worked himself into a pocket of space just inside the penalty area and targeted the top near corner. His left-footed 16-yarder beat goalkeeper Jordan Pickford but crashed off the crossbar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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English fans grew restless. Mocking them, US supporters chanted, \u201cIt’s called soccer!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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While they controlled large swaths of the match, the Americans continue to have trouble scoring. They did not score in either of the final two tuneups in September and notched just one goal in the first half of the 1-1 draw against Wales on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe were happy with the positions we got into, and we had some close opportunities,\u201d Berhalter said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The defense compensated, though, with an immaculate performance against world-class striker Harry Kane and his strong supporting cast. England never seemed comfortable in possession and labored to find solutions to a well-structured US defense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The only goal conceded by the US team in the first two matches came on Gareth Bale’s late penalty kick for Wales. Friday marked the first time the United States has blanked a European World Cup opponent since its history upset of England in 1950.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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England did manage quality chances late in each half. Matt Turner made a diving save to push aside Mason Mount’s bid just before intermission and Kane won an aerial duel on Luke Shaw’s free kick but drove his eight-yard header wide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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For the most part, the Three Lions labored to unlock a US resistance that offered an unexpected look: While the team maintained three forwards when it had the ball, Pulisic dropped into the midfield from the front line when England took possession.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Center backs Walker Zimmerman and Tim Ream did not crack. Inspiration was provided by captain Tyler Adams, who, from his defensive midfield slot, won loose ball after loose ball and executed a superb tackle in the penalty area to prevent trouble.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Three Lions tried picking up the pace late in the match, but the Americans weren’t fazed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The ‘bananas’ story of Matt Turner, the late-blooming USMNT goalkeeper at the World Cup<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Liking the way things were going, Berhalter did not make his first move remained until about 15 minutes. Carrying yellow cards from the Wales match, McKennie and Sergi\u00f1o Dest exited, avoiding an additional caution that would have resulted in suspension from the Iran game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Gio Reyna, the 20-year-old sensation, made his long-awaited World Cup debut in the 83rd minute, but the Americans were out of chances. Though they didn’t score and didn’t win, they did continue gaining respect from the soccer world after missing the 2018 World Cup. Gains were made both with their large army of fans here and the general public back home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI talked before the World Cup about how seriously the team is taking this responsibility to gain momentum in the sport in America, and good performances will do that,\u201d Berhalter said. \u201cWe want to capture the public’s attention. We want to perform at a high level. We want to give them something to be proud of. And nights like tonight help, but there has to be more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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World Cup in Qatar<\/h3>\n The latest: <\/b>The United States draws with England, 0-0, in its second World Cup game Friday to set up a must-win group finale against Iran. Read the highlights from the Group B matchup.<\/p>\n
Political protest:<\/b> The looming backdrop to Iran’s World Cup campaign is a nationwide protest movement back home targeting its clerical leadership, and the tensions, inescapable and persistent, are spilling onto the field.<\/p>\n
Highlights:<\/b> Where on Tuesday there had been Saudi Arabia over Argentina, now there came the spectacle on 73 minutes in Brazil over Serbia. Richarlison’s wonder of a goal cemented Brazil’s 2-0 opening win.<\/p>\n
Perspective: <\/b>The beautiful game is fine. Suitcases full of cash are better. Read Sally Jenkins on the human rights controversy in Qatar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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<\/p>\nWhat to know about the World Cup<\/p>\n
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USMNT battles England to a scoreless draw in World Cup matchup<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nUSMNT battles England to a scoreless draw in World Cup matchup - harchi90<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n