>
Piers Morgan and ex-USMNT captain Alexi Lalas have weighed in on how far England and the US will go in the 2022 World Cup after both countries have booked their Round of 16 spots to extend their stay in Qatar.
The Three Lions defeated Wales 3-0 to finish top of Group B, while the USMNT took a narrow 1-0 victory over Iran to progress to the knockout rounds.
“Sure, it’s England,” Morgan told Fox Sports’ Katie Abdo when asked who will advance in the tournament between the Three Lions and the Red, White and Blue.
‘We beat Senegal and then we are in the last eight. You, I think unfortunately, I think the series will end and frankly I do, against the Netherlands, they are a good team, and they probably have more experience in this kind of tournament football.
“But I do think you had a very young team and the average age today is 24. I’m really excited about the way Team USA is playing. If you had a striker, I would support them to continue.’
England beat Wales 3-0 and now take on Senegal in the Round of 16 at the World Cup
The US meets the Netherlands after beating Iran to finish second behind England in Group B
‘You will be very excited when the United States beats the Netherlands and bombs you against Senegal. We can come back here and have a big old party,” Lalas replied, adding that the Star and Stripes play better when they’re “underdogs,” as they did prior to last week’s 0-0 draw with England.
On Tuesday, the US beat Iran, all thanks to a first-half strike from winger Christian Pulisic, as England beat Wales to claim first place.
Wales, playing at the World Cup for the first time in 64 years, finished last in the group and third-placed Iran also fell out of the tournament.
When asked if Gregg Berhalter’s young side had a cap for Saturday’s game against the Netherlands, Morgan said: “Well, I think the problem remains for the United States that you don’t have a bona fide striker.
“And there were quite a few missed opportunities, I thought. [Tim] Weah missed a few. A pretty easy cup. Another shot a little later. I thought yes, he is not a natural finisher. If you had a natural finisher, I honestly think you’d have a really good chance, the United States, of getting pretty far.
Piers Morgan claims US will struggle in knockout stages without a ‘natural finisher’
Christian Pulisic scored the only goal of the game for the US against Iran before being injured
‘Without a finisher [though]“When you get to the knockout stage you need someone who can score goals, and I thought the goal scored tonight was brilliant. The head [and the] pass. One of the best things I’ve seen at this World Cup, but I’m worried about their progress purely because of the lack of strikers.’
“We have the opposite problem,” Morgan said of England’s attacks at the time. “We have strikers coming out of our ears, so we’re in a better position.”
Lalas seemed to disagree with his counterpart, informing him that Harry Kane, the Three Lions’ main striker, has yet to score a goal in his three starts in Qatar.
“You beat up Iran in a very different kind of scenario and moment, right? And then Wales…it’s Wales, right? And it’s the third game. Okay, so you should.
“Look at the ceiling, in the end I think you need some help. According to Piers, we don’t have a real goalscorer. But whatever happens, if we get to the round of 16 against a team like the Netherlands, they will be the favourites.’
“The interesting thing about our American team is that we actually play best when we’re underdogs, when people don’t expect us to do well.”
Ex-USMNT captain Alexi Lalas said the Star and Stripes play better when they’re ‘underdogs’
“The expectation is sometimes… they have incredible weight and the difference between an American team and an England team is that England is used to carrying that weight on a consistent basis, so I mean the US can go ahead and underdogs being underdogs. , underdogs, underdogs, so they will always be underdogs here from now until they win the World Cup.’
Back in the World Cup after missing out on the 2018 tournament, the U.S. has never reached the semi-finals, except for the opening game in Uruguay in 1930 – the team’s best-ever finish on the international football stage.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Pulisic was diagnosed with a pelvic contusion, returning to the team’s hotel and ahead of the team’s first knockout game against the Orange every day.
Josh Sargent also came out injured, injuring his right ankle in a 74th minute challenge by Majid Hosseini and left three minutes later.
Leading up to Saturday’s game, the US is 1-4 against the Netherlands, all of which were played as friendlies.