With the pressure of most players’ World Cup debuts finally out of the way, the big test on Black Friday looms.
AL RAYYAN, Qatar—On Tuesday night, less than 24 hours after making their 2022 World Cup debut in a 1–1 tie against Wales, the members of the U.S. men’s national team took a breather.
U.S. Soccer invited families and loved ones who are supporting the players and staff in Qatar to the team hotel for dinner. There, on a smaller island within the larger man-made, luxury island known as The Pearl, the group enjoyed a barbecue, buffet, some live music and the temporary distraction of fellowship and familiar faces.
If it felt like a break, it was a good time for one. The young Americans are on the precipice of danger here. Unable to hold its late one-goal lead against Wales at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium the U.S. settled for a point that now magnifies the importance of the upcoming showdown with Group B favorite England.
If form holds Friday, and Wales (0-0-1) defeats reeling Iran (0-1-0) before England (1-0-0) beats the U.S. (0-0-1), the Americans will need three points from their first-round finale against Iran while hoping England, which already will have qualified for the knockout stage, summons a winning effort against Wales. In other words, a point, a least, against the Three Lions would be massive.
The psychological test is an interesting one. The mission: leave Monday’s disappointment behind, all while carrying any lessons learned into the Al Bayt Stadium in northern Al Khor on Black Friday. Tuesday’s barbecue represented a chance to reset. The U.S. will hope that 90-plus minutes of World Cup seasoning—not to mention motivation to beat a country that has such a huge influence on American soccer culture, and with which so many U.S. players are connected—will do the rest.
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“This is a pretty easy one. You’re getting to play England. That’s the recovery right there,” coach Gregg Berhalter said after the Wales match. “You get to play one of the teams that we think is a favorite in the tournament. I think there’s not going to be many tired players come Friday.”
England, ranked fifth in the world and a European Championship silver medalist last summer, obviously is a different team than workmanlike Wales. But some of what happened in the second half of Monday’s opener may be instructive. The U.S. found itself under pressure as Wales sought to crawl back from a deficit, and that left a bit more space behind the typically deep-lying Welsh rearguard. The opportunity to find a vital second goal was there, but the U.S. failed to be clinical in those crucial moments. Too many forays sputtered before they could evolve into something genuinely dangerous.
“I think one of the main things for us is we missed some opportunities in transition,” goalkeeper Matt Turner said Wednesday evening at the Americans’ Al Gharafa training site. “I think we had chances where we just weren’t particularly clean in the final third, maybe the pass was a little off or the timing was wrong. And it took away the small windows that you have in a World Cup. where the margins are so thin, to score a goal. So I think we know that we’re going to have to be better in transition against England if we want to score goals, and yeah, I think we’ve learned a lot.”
Although the U.S. was outstanding in the first half against Wales, midfielder Yunus Musah said Friday’s game should feel a bit less stressful as well. The debuts are done. The U.S. enters the England game with 15 World Cup veterans. It arrived in Qatar with one (DeAndre Yedlin).
“Now that we got the first game out of the way everyone kind of has a feel of what the games are like, what the atmosphere is like, and also how to manage your nerves before the game,” Musah said Wednesday. “Obviously everything at highest stakes. Personally, I feel like now we know what we're here for. It's going to be easier to control those nerves and know what to expect for the next game.”
The U.S. is healthy and everyone is available to play Friday, a team spokesperson said. There were questions surrounding Berhalter’s decision to leave Gio Reyna on the bench late Monday in favor of Jordan Morris. The Borussia Dortmund attacker had experienced some “tightness” in a scrimmage last week against Al Gharafa, and Berhalter said the pace of the Wales game was more suited to Morris’s speed and fitness.
“I can envision him playing some role in England, but today we thought just given the nature of the game, it was too soon,” Berhalter said of Reyna late Monday night. “We've been building him up, and again, we think he can play a big role in this tournament. The question is when, and hopefully, on Friday he'll be one further step ahead.”
England had a potential injury scare as well, as 2018 World Cup golden boot winner Harry Kane had an ankle issue and was scheduled for a scan Wednesday. Kane practiced, however, and Three Lions goalkeeper Jordan Pickford told reporters, “I think he’s good—probably be a little bit sore but I think he’s fine. He’s out on the grass today with us, so that’s good. He’s our captain and I think he’s fine.”
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U.S. center back Cameron Carter-Vickers is well versed in Kane’s ability to push through. And he’s one of a bunch of Americans with first-hand knowledge of England and its players. Eight men on the U.S. roster are at English clubs, and several others spent time in the country. Reyna was born in Sunderland. Musah (Arsenal) and Luca de la Torre (Fulham) are academy products, Yedlin played for three English clubs and Carter-Vickers, now at Celtic, was born in Southend and came up through Tottenham’s academy.
“Training with him, you can see everyday how hard he works, his dedication—not just on the field but off the field as well—is top notch,” Carter-Vickers said of Kane. “You can see how consistent he’s been over the last so-many years now. That only comes if you are doing the right things day-in, day-out.”
Turner is now on the other side of the North London rivalry and took the opportunity Wednesday to laud Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka, who scored twice in Monday’s 6–2 demolition of Iran.
“I think it's pretty clear he's one of the young stars of world football,” Turner said of the 21-year-old. “He's a top, top player and you don't need me to tell anybody on our team how much of a threat that he poses in the game. He’s scoring goals in a variety of ways. He’s really developed maturity. He’s gotten stronger, from what I understand. I’ve only worked with him for a few months. But I’m looking forward to playing against familiar faces.”
Those connections, plus the newly-acquired experience Musah cited, should help the U.S. feel less like an underdog in Al Khor. The Americans know England.
“I feel like having played in [England] and with some of these guys, you know what style of play they play and are kind of familiar on how they play. So I guess that will be a factor that might help,” Musah said.
England is 8-2-1 all-time against the U.S. and hasn’t lost in five matches since the Americans’ 1993 friendly win in Foxborough, Mass. The lone draw in that span, however, came a dozen years ago at World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. has equaled England before on this stage, and the Three Lions will have never seemed less foreign or foreboding. The World Cup tends to cater to big names and big teams, but stunners authored by Japan (over Germany) and Saudi Arabia (over Argentina)—the Americans’ two September friendly opponents—show this unconventional tournament might have some surprises in store.
“You see that the world of football is leveling out in a lot of ways,” Turner said. “Teams have game plans. Teams have been investing in their youth academies over a number of years. They have guys playing at top level all over the world. I think the message is, when you have one team that's bought into the same message, you can beat anyone on any given day.”
The draw with Wales raised Friday’s stakes. It offered education and confirmation. And it was an appetizer. Now comes the game that may be the most viewed in U.S. soccer history, and which could go a long way toward determining the Americans’ fate in Qatar.
“Some very talented players on the team—favorites to win the tournament,” Turner said of England. “So it's gonna be a big challenge. It's going to take tremendous focus, but we're looking forward to it.”
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