Ryan Baldi: ENG v USA – Three things we learned

AFTER the high of England’s 6-2 opening-game smashing of Iran on Monday came the crashing comedown of a drab 0-0 draw with the USA on Friday evening.

It was a game of few clear-cut chances for either side, and England struggled to break down the United States’ stern rear guard anything like as readily as they’d dismantled Iran.

The result still leaves England near-certainties to qualify from Group B, though, providing they can avoid a heavy defeat at the hands of Wales on Tuesday.

Here are three things we learned from England 0-0 USA.

Southgate’s Foden Faux Pas

Changing a starting XI that had, just four days earlier, thumped Iran 6-2 would have been a difficult choice for Gareth Southgate to make. But a better understanding of the United States’ strengths would have led the England manager to make at least one key line-up switch: starting Phil Foden.

It took the Americans 10 minutes or so to settle into the game at Al Bayt Stadium, but from that point on, their intentions and identity were plain to see, and they were causing England trouble.

Gregg Berhalter’s side played with tremendous intensity when not in possession, harrying every England player on the ball any time the Three Lions crossed the halfway line. They so effectively limited the space in which England’s attacking players were allowed to operate that the side who hammered in six goals on Monday looked bereft of attacking ideas.

One possible solution for England would have been to lean on their most naturally gifted attacking player – Foden. The Manchester City man, whether stationed wide or centrally, possesses such deft close control that he is better able to play through the kind of pressure the USA were exerting than any of his international colleagues. It is a primary feature of Foden’s game that he excels in taking the ball in tight spaces, turning, playing forward and creating.

In the end, Southgate elected not to introduce Foden from the bench, instead bringing on Jack Grealish, Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford. Had Foden entered the game – or even started in place of the ineffectual Mason Mount – England might have enjoyed more attacking success.

England Given Lesson in Pressing

There were several departments in which the USA out-performed England for much of the match. Their backline was more tidily organised, their build-up play was crisper and more studied, and in the first half they were by far the more penetrative side in the attacking third.

But the area in which the States most impressed was their pressing. There was an intensity, co-ordination and tirelessness to the way they closed down, cut off passing lanes and squeezed space that England never came close to matching.

The US midfield trio of Weston McKennie, Leeds United’s Tyler Adams and former England youth standout Yunus Musa were particularly impressive for the snappy aggressiveness with which they approached their off-ball duties. Their England counterparts would do well to rewatch the match with a notepad and pen at hand. They were dealt a pressing lesson to remember.

Kane on an Island

When England fired six against Iran without Harry Kane among the scorers, observers noted the Spurs striker’s absence from the scoresheet as something of a quirky anomaly. He’d still managed two assists, it was reasoned, and he would surely be among the goals again soon enough.

But Kane failed to even aim a shot at goal against Iran, let alone land a shot on target. And Kane mustered zero shots on target again in the USA stalemate.

The England captain will have entered the World Cup confident of notching the three goals he needs to become his nation’s all-time top scorer. It is a worry that for two games running now England have failed to adequately service their most proven and potent attacking weapon.

Through the game, Kane was seen dropping deep into midfield areas to involve himself. It is incumbent on his team-mates and coaches to find better solutions to their struggles with progressing the ball so that it reaches him in his primary place of work – the penalty area – when faced with any sort of pressure from the opposition.

Even with the draw against the US, England’s passage to the knockout round is all but assured. But they will need to get Kane back among the goals if they are to muster a deep run in Qatar.