A bitter draw ensued when England drew 0-0 against the United States of America in their second Group B match on Friday.
Gareth Southgate chose an unchanged side from the team that decimated Iran and started with Manchester United’s two stars Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.
Marcus Rashford was introduced late in the second half as Southgate expected more of the same from the winger, but he barely had too many touches.
shaw shines
The Three Lions were highly desired heading into the contest, especially after their exploits with Iran, but a relentless team USA barely allowed them to create chances.
The Americans were by far the better team and it took solid action at the back of the English defenders to make sure the opposition didn’t score a goal.
If any player could come out of contention with their heads held high, it was United defenders Maguire and Shaw.
Luke Shaw’s match in numbers vs. USES:
91 touches 85% passing accuracy 6/7 long balls completed 2 key passes 1 great chance created 1 dribble completed
He sought to find the creative spark for England. ✨ pic.twitter.com/diptE18rKN
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 25, 2022
The left-back didn’t overlap as often as he normally does, but his cross and delivery of set pieces helped create the best chances for Gareth Southgate’s side.
He had 91 touches on the ball and finished the game with an impressive 85% pass accuracy rate. The 27-year-old also made two key passes and completed six long balls.
England’s creative spark
He created a great chance that came in stoppage time and also completed a dribble as he seemed to be the team’s creative spark.
Shaw’s stoppage-time free-kick was probably England’s best chance to catch him, as the ball landed perfectly on captain Harry Kane’s head, but missed the mark.
Defensively, he was solid and showed his recovery pace time and time again. The full-back made a crucial tackle as well as an interception and meshed well with club captain Maguire on the left of the defence.
While the result won’t be very pleasing to the English fans, a clean sheet against such an energetic American team will please Southgate and he hopes his attacking players will fire ahead of their next game.
