DOHA: England scored six goals in its opening World Cup game against Iran, but it was the two it conceded that concern coach Gareth Southgate and provide hope for the United States.
“By the end we looked sloppy,” said Southgate of the 6-2 win over Iran on Monday. He also warned the US would be coming “full-throttle” in Friday’s Group B match.
The tournament has already produced some shocking results, including Saudi Arabia’s win against Argentina and Japan’s upset over Germany.
A win for the US over England would not be on the scale of Saudi Arabia’s win — but Gregg Berhalter’s team is undoubtedly the underdog against one of the tournament favorites.
The two goals conceded against Iran gave Southgate something to focus on in an otherwise encouraging performance.
His message to the players has been clear: They will need to be better against the US team that tied 1-1 with Wales in its opening group game.
“They’re a top nation with a lot of top players who have played in the Premier League and who we’ve come up against,” said England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. “But it’s about us as a squad being 100 percent. It’s about us taking the result from Iran and going into the US game positive.”
One of those Premier League plays is Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic, a point of focus for England’s defense.
“He’s good with both feet, very clinical,” Pickford said. “We’ve got to be wary of him.”
A win for England would see it qualify for the round of the 16 with a game still to play — but the fate of Lionel Messi and Argentina is proof nothing can be taken for granted.
“It’s what World Cup football is all about,” said Pickford. “There are going to be surprises.”
US goalkeeper Matt Turner is predicting more of them at the World Cup.
“You see that the world of football is levelling out in a lot of ways,” he said. “Teams have game plans. Teams have been investing in their youth academies over a number of years.”
“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.”
If US is to produce the latest surprise of the competition, it will have to contain an England attack that was ruthless in the match against Iran, which featured two goals by Bukayo Saka.
“I think it’s pretty clear he’s one of the young stars of world football,” said his Arsenal teammate Turner. “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, matured.”
England wary of World Cup upset against US
https://arab.news/44zfy
England wary of World Cup upset against US
- A win for the US over England would not be on the scale of Saudi Arabia’s win
- win for England would see it qualify for the round of the 16 with a game still to play
Shakib Al-Hasan shines as MI Emirates down table-toppers Desert Vipers by 4 wickets
- All-round performance helped move the team back to second in the points table
DUBAI: MI Emirates registered a composed four-wicket victory over the table toppers Desert Vipers to seal their third straight win in the DP World ILT20 Season 4 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. After a disciplined bowling performance in the first innings, MI Emirates overcame early pressure before Kieron Pollard and Shakib Al-Hasan guided the team to victory.
The Desert Vipers managed to score 124 courtesy of Dan Lawrence’s gritty 35 off 34 balls, but MI Emirates navigated a tricky chase with relative ease. With the ball, spinner Al-Hasan’s two wickets for 14 runs led the charge and kept the Vipers in check, before Zahoor Khan’s death bowling ensured the total remained below par.
In reply, MI Emirates stumbled in the powerplay and lost momentum in the middle overs, but Pollard’s 26 off 15 balls flipped the contest decisively. Even after his dismissal, Al-Hasan held firm to see the chase through, striking the winning boundary to complete a controlled four-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.
MI Emirates endured a slow powerplay as the Vipers applied sustained pressure. David Payne set the tone early, removing Jonny Bairstow (5 off 5), while Lockie Ferguson struck to dismiss Muhammad Waseem (18 off 13). They finished the powerplay with 35/2 on the board.
The batting side lost momentum through the middle overs as the Vipers bowlers tightened the screws. Nicholas Pooran (17 off 17) mounted a brief counterattack with two sixes but was trapped LBW by Lawrence. Wickets fell at regular intervals, including Tom Banton (10 off 10) being bowled by a sharp Qais Ahmad delivery.
Then, skipper Pollard swung the momentum decisively, taking Ahmad apart with a pair of sixes in the 15th over that turned the chase in MI Emirates’ favor. He was eventually dismissed by Matiullah Khan, but Al-Hasan (17* off 25) held his nerve, anchoring the finish before striking the winning boundary off Matiullah to close the chase at 124/6 in 17.3 overs.
In the first innings, the Vipers made a subdued start in the powerplay, as Chris Woakes was excellent up front, conceding just 15 runs from his three overs. Allah Ghazanfar struck the key blow by removing Max Holden (20 off 18). Fakhar Zaman (13 off 13) tried to build momentum, but the lack of boundaries and regular dots ensured the Vipers were restricted to 35/1 after six overs.
MI Emirates tightened their grip through the middle overs as Al-Hasan struck twice in a miserly spell to remove Zaman and Sam Curran (4 off 4), conceding just eight runs in two overs. Arab Gul added to the pressure by dismissing Hasan Nawaz (13 off 19), leaving the Vipers reeling after losing three wickets in as many overs and the score at 54/4 at the halfway mark of their innings.
Lawrence and Jason Roy (14 off 18) showed intent in patches, adding a cautious stand of 42 runs in 40 balls, but boundaries were scarce. Al-Hasan capped an outstanding spell, leaving the Vipers with little impetus. Khan delivered a decisive final over, finishing with two for 17, as regular wickets in the death overs ensured the Vipers were kept in check, leaving MI Emirates a manageable target of 125 to seal the chase.
Al-Hasan said: “It was a surface that suited the spinners, and the focus was on hitting the right areas consistently. I was able to do that today, which was pleasing. I’m glad it helped the team. Batting wasn’t easy on this pitch either. With so many powerful hitters in our lineup, someone needed to play the anchoring role, and I was happy to take on that responsibility to make sure we finished the chase.”
Desert Vipers stand-in skipper Curran commented: “It was another low-scoring game on a tricky surface. The pitch was slow, and facing a side like MI Emirates, who have high-quality spinners with a lot of variation, made it even tougher. Despite that, I thought our bowlers put in a strong effort. With qualification already secured, we chose to rotate the squad, and what happened to Lockie reinforces the importance of managing workloads.”
