From a sporting point of view, there are much more demanding challenges at this world championship than in the preliminary round group B, but it can hardly be surpassed in terms of geopolitical explosives. Almost every match contains a conflict that goes far beyond the conflict between the national teams on the pitch. Even before the tournament, the games involving the Islamic Republic of Iran were considered tense due to the nationwide protest movement by a large part of the population against the authoritarian regime. Things only got worse after Iran’s surprising 2-0 win over Wales on Friday afternoon.
Because a few hours later England couldn’t get more than a disappointing 0-0 draw against the USA – which means that archenemies Iran and USA will now face the ultimate showdown for a place in the round of 16 on Tuesday. Co-favourites England, on the other hand, have almost defused the explosive constellation in this group and are in first place with four points. In the domestic final duel with Wales, the team of coach Gareth Southgate is enough due to the good goal difference even a defeat by three goals to progress.
After the rout against Iran at the start, England kept a cool head in a hectic final phase against the USA and played to the advantage that in the event of a tie, the goal difference is not used as the next evaluation. So the Three Lions refrained from pushing for the winning goal and having to expose the defense.
The strategic decision was acknowledged by the predominantly English fans in the al-Bayt Stadium, which had a capacity of 68,463 spectators, with displeasure during the game, and even with loud whistles after the final whistle – perhaps some of them had to take the tired kick between Scotland and England at the European Championship think last summer, an ugly 0-0 that gave both countries a place in the next round.
But Southgate never really cared about the attractiveness of his own performance during his tenure. And the goalless draw reads far better on paper than it looked on the pitch.
Kane and Saka miss England’s best chances in the first half
The mass newspaper The Sun aptly described the rivalry between the two nations in advance by explaining the transatlantic banger as “football versus soccer” – as if they were two different sports, which of course is not the case despite the different terminology. Until recently, the performances of the Americans may have had little to do with football for one or the other scoffing Englishman, but the development of the USA into a significant competitor in this discipline has not gone unnoticed, even in the motherland of football.
With a brilliant shot from the edge of the box, the highly motivated Christian Pulisic came closest to scoring for the Americans shortly before half-time. The US boys convinced with a very good tactical orientation. The three-man midfield around the strong captain Tyler Adams of Leeds United forced the English to advance their attacks on the less promising flanks. Accordingly, they rarely could Three Lions break through, the best opportunities were missed after crosses by Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka in the first half.
As the game progressed, the Endlanders became bogged down in their offensive efforts, resulting in a couple of decent counterattacks from the US team. Around the 60th minute of the game, a series of corner kicks would almost have been rewarded with the opening goal. Southgate reacted to the urge phase by correcting the deficit in midfield with a change of basic order – and thus securing the sportingly important draw.