World Cup: US goalkeeper Matt Turner dubs England ‘tournament favourites’
England take on the USA in Group B of the World Cup on Friday in Qatar. The Three Lions won their opening game in style against Iran, cruising to a 6-2 victory as Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish all on the scoresheet for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Harry Kane has shaken off an injury scare and is fit to play after undergoing a scan on his ankle this week, while Harry Maguire has also declared himself ready to start following an illness. Southgate is therefore expected to name an unchanged team.
England will want to end an unwanted record and claim their first victory over the USA at a World Cup. The USA famously defeated England at the 1950 World Cup, before Rob Green’s error resulted in a 1-1 draw in South Africa in 2010.
The match begins at 10pm local time (7pm GMT) and will be live on ITV. For those in the US, it’s 2pm ET/11pm PT and is being broadcast on Fox and Telemundo.
Follow all the latest England World Cup news ahead of the match against the USA, below.
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
Show latest update
1669395534
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
England will qualify for the World Cup knockout phase if they beat the United States on Friday.
Ahead of the Group B clash in Al Khor, here are five of the main talking points.
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 16:58
1669394694
World Cup 2022: Wales 0-2 Iran – MATCH REPORT
By Richard Jolly in Qatar:
“Don’t take me home” became an anthem of Wales in 2016 but the danger is they will soon be booking their flights.
The latest of late drama felt a fatal blow to their hopes of extending their stay in Qatar, goals in the 98th and 101st minutes earning Iran the victory they thoroughly deserved but which thanks to a combination of the uprights, the most marginal of offsides and some inspired goalkeeping, they seemed set to be denied.
Yet Wayne Hennessey’s day will not be remembered for his stops from Sardar Azmoun and Saeid Ezatolahi, crucial as they seemed at the time.
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 16:44
1669393794
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
John Stones has known Harry Maguire for almost two decades and revealed the pair often share jokes over texts – meaning the Manchester City defender was in “no doubt” that his England team-mate would find his form at the World Cup.
The two centre-backs may cross the Manchester divide, with Maguire captaining Manchester United, but they are long-time friends and have built a fine understanding at the heart of Gareth Southgate’s defence.
Maguire has been dropped by United recently and was also jeered by a small section of England fans earlier in the year.
But Southgate kept his faith in the 29-year-old and it was repaid with a fine display in the 6-2 win over Iran on Monday before Maguire went off with illness.
“First of all, no doubt at all,” Stones replied when asked if Maguire would settle in with England despite his club form.
“Harry hasn’t played much at his club, but to come in and play like he did – I don’t think anyone saw a bit of rust on him.
“That’s great credit to him and I’m so happy for him and everyone who played. As a player you want and need to be playing and have a good rhythm. But for him to come in to play as he did is credit to him.”
John Stones has faith in his partnership with Harry Maguire
(PA Archive)
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 16:29
1669392774
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
Jordan Pickford is hoping England get fair treatment from officials after boss Gareth Southgate said he was “worried” that his side had been used as an example during pre-World Cup referee meetings.
England were denied what looked like a clear spot-kick when Harry Maguire was grabbed by Rouzbeh Cheshmi early on in their 6-2 win over Iran on Monday.
The VAR decided not to intervene but later alerted the referee to a tug on a shirt in the England box which resulted in Mehdi Taremi scoring a last-gasp penalty, while a similar offence resulted in a spot-kick in Argentina’s shock defeat to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 16:12
1669391994
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
England and six other federations feared that their captains could have been issued a red card, and that there was essentially “unlimited liability”, had they worn the OneLove armband in their opening World Cup matches.
There wouldn’t even have been the prospect of an iconic photo, as any sanction would have been administered before the teams set out onto the pitch. It was for this reason that the federations were keen to take the decision out of the players’ hands, and not put them under any pressure.
The relatively small gesture of the armbands – a protest against Qatar’s laws and attitude to LGBTQ+ groups – has become one of the biggest issues in a hugely controversial World Cup. The German federation have already accused Fifa of “extreme blackmail” in discussions, and there was a genuine fear that it could have seen players such as Harry Kane, Virgil van Dijk and Gareth Bale suspended.
Ben Burrows25 November 2022 15:59
1669390974
World Cup 2022: England captain fit to play against USA after scan all clear
Kane suffered a knock to his right ankle after a clumsy challenge by Morteza Pouraliganji in England’s 6-2 win against Iran on Monday – the national team’s biggest ever win at the start of a major tournament.
The Spurs striker, who has a history of ankle problems, did play on for 25 minutes but was seen limping after the game and went for a precautionary scan.
But the 29-year-old received the green light to train on Wednesday, with the official England Twitter account sharing a photo of him in training accompanied by the caption “skipper” and a fist emoji.
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 15:42
1669390254
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
Gareth Southgate has not ruled out his England team making a gesture to highlight human rights concerns at the Qatar World Cup but says they will not be pressured into doing so.
Seven European nations competing at the World Cup – including Germany, England and Wales – planned to wear OneLove anti-discrimination armbands during the tournament, but were dissuaded from doing so following the threat of sporting sanctions from Fifa.
Southgate, whose team face the United States in their second match on Friday, said: “I don’t think we should feel any pressure – I think we’ve spoken on these particular topics for over a year and we’ve supported all manner of good causes either as individuals or the collective.”
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 15:30
1669389354
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
As England began to play the ball around against Iran, they felt something different.
“Definitely a click,” John Stones said of the 6-2 win. “Or a desire to put things right. We had come out of a bad period.”
They can now look through to the other side. England scored more goals against Iran than they did in the entire Nations League campaign. The reality, however, was that it was a step up from Gareth Southgate’s general style rather than just the last eight months.
“I guess people wouldn’t expect us to be like that having watched us for a couple of years and the style of football we play,” the manager acknowledged. “Maybe we regressed to the norm.”
The challenge now is to make it the norm, and illustrate it was not partly a product of the disarray that Iran are in; that England have announced their credentials.
Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney’s big match preview from Doha:
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 15:15
1669388334
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
As England’s teenage football hero Jude Bellingham returns to the pitch in Qatar on Friday, friends and neighbours in his hometown of Stourbridge in the West Midlands are bursting with pride.
And none more so than his former primary school caretaker, who used to fetch the player’s lost ball down from the roof when he was a boy.
“It seemed to be a daily occurrence,” Mark Williams tells The Independent. “You could tell then he was quite a good little footballer and he was destined to be.”
“He did seem to do that more than any other child. It became a joke. Every day the ladders were out. I kept them on standby because of that reason.”
He adds: “He was a very pleasant lad. He always asked you to get the ball down nicely.”
This made the midfielder only the second teenager – after Michael Owen – to score for the Three Lions at a World Cup.
Jude Bellingham’s hometown proud of the lad who practised so much he wore the grass out:
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 14:58
1669387194
World Cup 2022: Who is England vs USA official Jesus Valenzuela?
Jesus Valenzuela is the referee of England’s match against the USA at the World Cup tonight.
The Venezuelan is taking charge of his first match at the World Cup after being selected as one of 36 referees at the tournament in Qatar.
The 39-year-old is considered to be one of the top referees in South America – taking charge of matches in the Copa America, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and South American World Cup qualifiers.
He referees professional in Venezuela’s top flight, where he took charge of nine matches before the league paused for the World Cup.
In those matches, however, Valenzuela showed red cards in seven of them, as well as an array of yellow cards.
Kieran Jackson25 November 2022 14:39