Loud boos echoed throughout the stadium. The fans of England were not pleased. They had experienced yet another World Cup setback from the United States.
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The teams have now faced off three times on soccer’s grandest stage, and after a scoreless stalemate on Friday, England is still searching for its first victory over the Americans.
Gareth Southgate, the team’s coach, had previously reminded his players of such record, noting that the United States had famously won 1-0 in 1950 and played to a 1-1 tie in 2010. They didn’t appear to follow his advice, and Gregg Berhalter‘s young and spirited team received no response.
In its first game in Qatar, England defeated Iran 6-2 to uphold its reputation as one of the tournament favourites. However, it may count itself fortunate not to have lost another game to the Americans after Christian Pulisic’s first-half goal and Weston McKinnie’s eight-yard miss both hit the crossbar.
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The England supporters arrived at the Al Bayt Stadium in hopes of celebrating a victory and advancement to the knockout stages with one game remaining.
“I want our fans at home to have a smile on their faces and we haven’t quite managed to achieve that,” Southgate said. “But people are going to react how they react and I can’t let that affect how I feel about the team or how the team feels.
“The objective is to qualify and we have three games to do it.”
One thing is to annoy England. But getting to the knockout rounds is what Berhalter is supposed to do.
As a result of the draw, the United States will play Iran on Tuesday for a place in the round of 16. Iran has three points, one more than the Americans, and is second in Group B after defeating Wales 2-0 earlier.
“It sets up our first knockout game of the World Cup,” Berhalter said. “We win or we’re out of the World Cup. That’s going to be the focus for us while we are preparing the team for the next game.
“But most importantly, understanding the intensity Iran is going to bring. They played an excellent game today. Played with ton of spirit will have to be up for it if we want a chance to advance.”
