Game two of the world cup saw the United States take on England. This was the second game for both teams. It was the fourth game for Group B. Iran played Wales earlier in the day. Kickoff was at 11am. The game took place at Al Bayt Stadium. This is the first time these two teams have met in the world cup since 2010.
This match was built up like the match of the tournament. There was a lot of hype. I think this is the closest the USA will come this tournament to playing in a rivalry match. This looked like it was going to be an uphill battle for the United States. Everyone was talking about England. The though coming from both sides was the England would win this match. While England is good. I think they are overhyped. The United States is young and ready to prove themself on the world stage.
United States Preview | FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
United States VS England Preview | FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
It was not as one-sided as a lot of people thought it would be. The match started with a solid back-and-forth. The United States had the best chance of the game in the 33′ minute. Pulisic had a good shot that went off the crossbar. I’m sure the chance game a lot of people on both sides heart attacks. The score was tied at 0-0 going into the second half.
As the game went on England kept creating chances. Both sides had some ok looks but nothing too dangerous. At the end of the game, the United States had a free kick in extra time. Instead of putting it in the box and creating a chance that way they wasted the free kick. The game ended in a 0-0 draw. This was one of the most stressful draws I’ve ever watched. It was a lot just waiting and waiting for a goal that never came.
As I said this game was stressful. Neither team looked like they wanted to take any chances. The full game seemed like they were waiting for the other side to make a mistake instead of generating chances. Both teams struggled to create quality chances. The best example of that is the United States wasted free kick at the end of the match. The goalies wen’t being challenged. All of the shots that the both keepers saved were fairly easy saves. The best chance of the game was that crossbar shot. I think that was the only quality chance either team had in the game. Another thing I noticed with the United States was that they were not taking quick shots. They were dribbling the ball a little extra which allowed England to get in a position to block shots. I think they also used the ground ball into the box. They were trying to set up the perfect shot a lot more than trying to get the header.
I am ok with the result we got. It isn’t what I wanted. It’s ok though. We knew before the game it was going to come down to the Iran game. It would have been nice though to put some points between us and last place. We are undefeated going into the final match of the group stage and we are favored to win. It’s a good situation to be in. Not the best but good.
The United States had more shots. England had more shots on target. England had more possession but it was pretty even. Both had strong pass accuracy. The United States had quite a few corner kicks. Ultimately neither team had an edge in this game.
United States VS Iran
Game #: Group stage final game | Group B match five
Date: Friday, November 29, 2022
Time: 11:00am (PST)
Location: Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar
Zac Electrifly 