US holds England to scoreless draw

KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/ AFP

The US men's national team tied England 0-0 in Group B play at the World Cup in Al Khor, Qatar on Friday.

With the result, the US is in position to advance to the knockout round with a win against Iran in the final group stage match on Tuesday, while England finishes against Wales.

England has four points, Iran three following a 2-0 win over Wales on Friday. The US has two points and Wales one. The top two teams advance to the knockout round.

The momentum went back and forth in the second half but the best chance was a straight-on shot by England's Marcus Rashford in the 87th minute that Matt Turner easily stopped.

Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, English captain Harry Kane got his head on a free kick but put the ball left of the goal.

The US had not lost in its previous two World Cup matches vs the English, winning 1-0 in Brazil in 1950 and playing to a 1-1 tie in South Africa in 2010.

This was the first US shutout against a European opponent in the World Cup since that match in Brazil.

The first half was entertaining with England pressing early, the Americans bouncing back with a near-goal and the English almost pulling off a goal.

Kane had a great look at the American net in the 10th minute from the middle of the box before defender Walker Zimmerman made the block.

It was redemption for Zimmerman, whose foul allowed Wales' Gareth Bale to convert a penalty in the 86th minute for a 1-1 tie in the first match.

In the 26th for America, Weston McKennie took a service from Tim Weah only to drill a shot over the net.

Christian Pulisic had the English defense beat in the 33rd minute, but his shot smacked the crossbar.

Finally, in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Turner made his first save, diving to his right to stop a Mason Mount effort.

More from Sports News

  • Brook's defiant ton in vain as New Zealand beat England

    New Zealand overcame a blitz from centurion Harry Brook to beat England by four wickets on Sunday in the opening game of their three-match one-day international series, with Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell scoring half-centuries.

  • Bencic tames Noskova to win Tokyo title

    Belinda Bencic breezed past Czech sixth seed Linda Noskova 6-2 6-3 to win the Pan Pacific Open title on Sunday, erasing bitter memories of her straight-sets defeat by Agnieszka Radwanska in the title clash of the same tournament 10 years ago.

  • We need to find answers to stop Liverpool slide, says Slot

    Liverpool manager Arne Slot said opponents have identified a winning strategy against his Premier League champions and he needs to find a solution fast after a 3-2 defeat at Brentford on Saturday made it four league losses in a row.

  • Rohit and Kohli bid likely farewell to Australia as winners

    Rohit Sharma hit a century and Virat Kohli a bright 74 to drive India to a nine-wicket win in the third one-day international on Saturday, sending fans home happy after what are likely to be their final appearances in Australia in their country's colours.

Blogs