The United States’ match against England ended in a tie on Monday. Despite England entering the game heavy favourites, the two teams looked pretty even on their main chances.
Of course, that comes in waves. At one point England looked ripe for scoring, particularly during the period of play around the arrival of Jack Grealish.
However, the United States had its own near-miss spells.
Christian Pulisic hit the crossbar in the first half. In fact, Gregg Berhalter called the last few minutes of the first 45 the best part of the game.
England almost qualified in group B
In the end, the score is all that matters. The United States, England and Iran control their destinations in Group B of the World Cup.
England are out with a win, a draw or even a loss against Wales, as long as it’s not by an exorbitant number of goals. Iran go through with a win or draw against the Americans.
For the United States, this is a knockout game. Win, and the Stars and Stripes return to the knockout stage at the World Cup. A draw or worse, and Gregg Berhalter’s team goes home.
However, some say the USA deserved more than the point won against England. The statistics released by FIFA Match Report help tell an interesting story between England and the USA.
Stats to explain USA vs England
England had significantly more possession throughout the match. This will obviously mean that the Three Lions had more passes, line breaks completes and receptions in the final third.
However, England were unable to create as many scoring chances as the USMNT.
Berhalter’s men actually had more shots than their opponents. Along with the high number of total shots, the US also racked up more ball progressions.
This shows that while England were in possession, they couldn’t break through the American defense very well.
Meanwhile, the USMNT actually created solid chances despite having far less of the ball.
The transition was crucial for the USMNT. The Stars and Stripes had a higher percentage of attacking transitions and counterattacks. England preferred to hold on to the ball and make slower passes, while the USA used a faster counter-attacking style.
To help create offensive opportunities in the future, the US also used defensive actions. The USMNT forced 61 turnovers, regained possession 47 times, had 6 interceptions and pressured England’s power players 350 times. All of these statistics were more than the fifth-ranked Three Lions.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Action Plus
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