Generally speaking, when it has boiled down to the key things in history, the United States of America have tended to be on the same side as the United Kingdom, or as in this case, England.
It’s called the Special Relationship and while nobody actually can define what this is conclusively, it means that on most things, we tend to agree and be ‘on the same team’.
That will not be the case today though as the United States will take on England for the third time at a FIFA World Cup Finals and they have the enviable record of never having lost to their friends and rivals at the famous tournament.
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With England having three points from their 6-2 win over Iran, the United States lie behind their rivals having picked up a point from their 1-1 draw with Wales in their opening game.
A win for England would ensure they qualify for the next phase, whereas a win for the United States could take them top of the group and put themselves in with a very good chance of qualifying.
However, despite England starting as favourites, and having a great record against the United States in head games, in World Cup Fixtures and in other competitive games, it is the US that hold the better record.
Let’s take a look back at some of the most famous encounters between the two teams over the years.
However, all of England’s wins have come in international friendly games, whereas in two FIFA World Cup games, and one US Cup game, it is the United States that have the better record.
One of the biggest shocks in World Cup Finals history came in the 1950s finals in Brazil. England were competing in their first World Cup and were one of the favourites to win the tournament, while the United States team were filled with amateurs and part-timers and they were expected to be the also-rans in the group.
However, nobody told the United States team that and despite facing a team packed with stars, the United States took the lead through Haitian born Joe Gaetjens, but it was still expected that England would prevail.
Indeed, with the game taking place overnight, when the result was wired through from Brazil, many newspapers thought the 1-0 score was a misprint and actually reported the game as a 10-1 win for England.
It wasn’t and the USA landed arguably the first huge upset in World Cup history.
England were one of a number of teams invited to take part in the pre-World Cup US Cup in the summer before the 1994 Finals, but foreshadowing their elimination from the tournament at the qualifying stage, Graham Taylor’s England suffered another miserable defeat at the hands of the United States.
The home team opened the scoring just before half time when Tom Dooley put the United States in front to the delight of the Foxboro crowd. The goalscorer was substitute on 69 minutes for the bearded star Alexi Lalas who then scored a second with a powerful header from a corner just two minutes after coming on.
England’s misery was compounded later in the year when defeat to the Netherlands saw them eliminated from the competition without even reaching the finals in the U.S.
England fans will remember this game for the goal they never saw as inexplicably UK TV coverage of the game went to commercial with England on the ball and by the time the picture came back on, England captain Steven Gerrard had scored after four minutes.
However, despite dominating the game, England then conceded in remarkable fashion when Clint Dempsey’s shot squired under goalkeeper Robert Green and over the line.
England could not regain the lead as the US put up a resolute defensive display in the second half to claim a vital point.
After their success of reaching the semifinals unexpected at the 2018 World Cup Finals, England met. The United States at Wembley in the November of that year and Gareth Southgate’s men came away with arguably their best performance against the United States for many years.
Jesse Lingard put England ahead on 25 minutes and Trent Alexander-Arnold scored his first England goal just two minutes later before Callum Wilson added a third on 77 minutes to give the home side a good win over a US team that contained the likes of Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Christian Pulisic
This fixture was the last time that the two teams met.
England skipper Harry Kane has recovered from an ankle injury sustained against Iran and will likely lead the team out once again tonight. The forward didn’t score any of England’s six against Iran but he will be hoping to get on the scoresheet here.
It’s hard to argue with Southgate changing formation or personnel after such an emphatic win in their opening game and I expect Southgate to keep faith with the team that earned that big win in their opener.
England Predicted Team – (4-3-3) – Pickford, Trippier, Shaw, Maguire, Stones, Rice, Bellingham, Mount, Sterling, Kane, Saka.
Gregg Berhalter doesn’t have any major injury concerns for this game, but despite a good first half showing against Wales, the way they fell off the pace in the second half does mean that Berhalter may wonder if he needs to change things.
In my view, Berhalter will name an unchanged team from the Wales game and likely employ similar tactics. The question is whether that will be enough against an England side who found form against Iran.
USA Predicted Team – (4-3-3) – Turner, Dest, Robinson, Ream, Zimmerman, Adams, Musah, McKennie, Pulisic, Weah, Sargent.
The United States have a great record against England in the World Cup Finals and they will be the underdogs here once again. This will be a tougher game for England, but I think this England team has banished a number of hoodoos in recent times and this may be another.
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