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FIFA World Cup 2022: England vs USA (Official pre/in-game Thread)
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England started their World Cup campaign brilliantly by hammering Iran 6-2 on Monday, in what was their best ever result to open a World Cup, and their second-biggest all-time World Cup win. But after a game which remarkably saw almost half an hour of injury time, manager Gareth Southgate was not entirely satisfied, saying “It’s a great start but we’re going to have to be better,” after watching his side concede two late goals.
The Three Lions conceding after the hour-mark in matches has been a theme recently, as they’ve done so in each of their last four games (W1, D1, L2), but Southgate will now want his side to maintain their focus against the USA as they bid to make it six H2Hs unbeaten (W4, D1). There’s no room for complacency though, as they’ll be well aware that the sole H2H draw during that run came at the 2010 World Cup.
These nations’ only other World Cup meeting came back in 1950, with a 1-0 success for USA back then remaining the last time the Americans kept a clean sheet in the World Cup against a European nation after they conceded a late penalty to draw their 2022 opener 1-1 with Wales. That 1950 win is regarded as one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history, something they’ll be trying to repeat here to keep their chances of progression alive.
If England were guilty of dropping their level of performance in the second half against Iran, so too were the USA against Wales and they paid the penalty – literally – for not making the most of their first-half dominance. Manager Gregg Berhalter tried to take some positives though, saying his side had “left everything out there” and “kept going right until the end”.
Players to watch: Bukayo Saka netted a brace against Iran, emulating skipper Harry Kane, who scored a double in England’s first World Cup game in 2018. Meanwhile, the USA’s Timothy Weah, scorer of the first World Cup goal against Wales since Pelé in 1958, is yet to lose an international in which he’s netted (W2, D2).
Hot stat: England’s last four internationals produced an average of 3.75 second-half goals per game.
World Cup trivia: Prior to Monday, only two sides this century had scored 3+ goals in each half of a World Cup game (Germany in 2002 and Argentina in 2006). England and Spain – with victories over Iran and Costa Rica respectively – have both done so in this tournament alone!
https://www.flashscore.com/match/Cj4.../match-summary
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Originally Posted by lakerboy
