The USMNT treated their match against England as the main event of a super boxing card, they played that way giving a tactical and pure heart performance that leaves Gregg Berhalter’s side with two points and needing a victory against Iran to push on to the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup.
The 0-0 draw between the Three Lions and the Americans saw Gregg Berhalter’s men have the better of the play, anticipating the English attack and when things got sticky managing to absorb the onslaught. England on the other hand were surprised by how the US pressed and were lucky to come away with a point.
Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Sergiño Dest gave man of the match performances, now the USMNT must start making good on their possession and start to score goals. Here are three takeaways from USA 0 England 0.
Time to score goals
The USMNT did it for 90 minutes today, possessing the ball, pressing the English defense, and creating chances, none better than Christian Pulisic’s banger off the post. Now against Iran the USMNT MUST score goals to finally complete the recipe of success. Haji Wright seemed to be much more dangerous and troubling for the English defense than Josh Sargent was against Wales, Wright is deserving of a start against Iran.
Pulisic was contained but managed to find his spaces and look dangerous, it is clear that Captain America needs a little bit more help and while Weah has played very well, the USMNT could benefit from at least 45 minutes of Gio Reyna.
The best of the Gregg Berhalter era
Gregg Berhalter (Getty Images)
Gregg Berhalter has not been without criticism, but he has left the best of his team for the World Cup. The 90 minutes against England and the opening 45 against Wales are not only the best games under the 2002 World Cup defender, but also the best pure soccer performances by the USMNT at the World Cup since 2002 where the USMNT defeated Portugal and drew South Korea in their first two opening games.
While the team in 2002 had the presence of a Brian McBride up top, the 2022 version of the USMNT lacks a pure goal scorer like England has in Harry Kane, given that defect, finding room for Gio Reyna is now a must so the USMNT can finish their chances.
Time to release Gio
Gio Reyna of The United States (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
It has become evident that the USMNT is having difficulty scoring goals, while against Wales they possessed the ball, the team did very little in terms of offense. Against England the USMNT were much better in attack having 10 shots on goal and 1 hitting the post.
Gio Reyna could be the missing link to finally getting the US more on the board at the World Cup, it will also help free up Pulisic who while the Chelsea winger did an exceptional job of freeing himself up needs a more creative presence to play alongside him. Tim Weah at this point seems like the odd man out if Gregg Berhalter needs 3 points against Iran, which he does.
Man of the Match: Tyler Adams
Harry Kane of England controls the ball under pressure of Tyler Adams of United States during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The USMNT best player at the World Cup is Tyler Adams, once again a commanding performance by the US captain. Adams’ stock continues to rise and has shown that he could be playing for a better team than Leeds United by the end of the Premier League season.
