England player ratings vs USA: Harry Maguire the best player but Harry Kane fails to deliver
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England were unable to secure their place in the last 16 after only conceding a goalless draw against a stubborn American side.
Gareth Southgate was unable to turn the result in England’s favor from the touchline, and they now need a result against Wales on Tuesday to progress.
CHRIS SUTTON of Sportsmail gives his verdict on how England players performed at Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.
Gareth Southgate assigned an unchanged squad for England’s second group stage match against the USA
ENGLAND (4-3-3)
Jordan Pickford – 5/10
England’s defense failed to protect their goalkeeper. Pickford must have had flashbacks to a few games with Everton! Just kidding, but Pickford can thank his crossbar for preventing Christian Pulisic from denying him his first clean sheet of this World Cup.
Kieran Trippier was left on the crossbar after Christian Pulisic’s first-half effort came close
Kieran Trippier – 4.5/10
Lucky when Weston McKennie squandered a glorious chance to open the scoring while Trippier failed to mark his man. Then you’re lucky that Pulisic – or ‘Captain America’ as he is called in the United States – hits his shot against the crossbar. Challenging night for Trippier.
John Stones – 5/10
Stones and Maguire had to watch out for that American crowd when playing from behind. But England’s centre-backs were constantly playing ‘passions’ with each other. That was somewhat frustrating to watch when we know they are both good with the ball.
Man United’s Harry Maguire earned his 50th cap and was England’s best player in the game
Harry Maguire – 6/10
Made a nice impression from Lionel Messi early on when he dribbled into the penalty area. Probably got a bloody nose because he was so high up the field! This wasn’t England’s night, but if a cross came into the penalty area, Maguire was there to clear it. Our best player, easily.
Luke Shaw – 5/10
Most of the United States’ chances came from Shaw’s side of the field, including the cross that led to McKennie’s missed opportunity. Right-back Sergino Dest came forward and right-winger Timothy Weah made Shaw difficult, as he did against Wales earlier this week.
Luke Shaw was part of the backline that somehow kept the US out despite a slew of chances
Jude Bellingham – 4.5/10
Worrying sight as the 19-year-old England midfielder took a heavy blow from Haji Wright – how dare you hurt our prodigy! — but he shook off that knock. The United States has won the battle in midfield here. Bellingham was limited and sacrificed for Henderson in a Southgate tactical change.
Bricklayer Confirmation – 4.5/10
Mount is neat in possession, but he is also tenacious out. That’s why Southgate so often lets him start in his engine room. But he struggled to make any impact here, save for one snap shot saved by Matt Turner shortly before the break.
Chelsea’s Mason Mount controls the ball against American Walker Zimmerman
Declan Rice – 4.5/10
England’s night watchman. Bellingham and Mount are cleared to advance further, while Rice remains behind as a safety net. But the most impressive defensive midfielder in this game was the tireless Tyler Adams from Leeds. He was here, there and everywhere. Rice was not.
Bukayo Saka – 4/10
England looked to be having fun on the right side early on. But as the game grew, Saka’s influence diminished. Too bad he couldn’t put his foot around Shaw’s low cross to score. Two goals against Iran in a perfect performance, but not his evening on this occasion.
Harry Kane missed three chances to score but took a while to warm up at Euro 2020
Harry Kane – 5/10
The first chance to score was blocked by Walker Zimmerman. Second chance was a bicycle kick that never came. Third chance was a header in stoppage time.
Unfortunately still no World Cup goals, but then he waited until the knockout phase to start at Euro 2020, remember!
Raheem Sterling – 4/10
There were times when the United States could too easily sidestep the high press of Sterling and Co. As England continued to struggle to take control of the game, one wondered how long Southgate would wait before turning the front line.
Eventually he was hooked on Grealish.
MANAGER
Gareth Southgate – 4/10
Went with an unchanged squad for the first time since the 2018 World Cup. Same team, same formation, but not the same dominance England exerted over Iran earlier this week. The United States were better overall and Southgate will no doubt make changes to his starting line-up for Wales after this deadlock.
England manager Gareth Southgate couldn’t change the result from the touchline
REPLACEMENTS
Jack Grealish (for Sterling, 68) – 5.5/10
England fans may have felt Southgate should have made this change earlier than the 68th minute. Finally, after watching us toil against a hard-working team from the United States for over an hour, Grealish arrived to dazzle us. The strange creative moment.
Jordan Henderson (for Bellingham, 68) – 5.5/10
Arriving as Southgate tried to establish a sense of control in midfield as the United States had been winning that battle for too long. Bellingham was the unfortunate sacrifice. Too bad he had a bad night because the English teenager is such a talent.
Marcus Rashford (for Saka, 78) – 5.5/10
Saka didn’t do enough and the stage was set for Rashford to become England’s hero. These are the moments when the fringe players are waiting for World Cups. However, Rashford didn’t have long to stretch his legs here. Tried to curl one into the corner, but Turner picked it up safely.
Marcus Rashford replaced Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka with just over ten minutes remaining in Qatar
REFEREE
Jesus Valenzuela – 6/10
Not much for the Venezuelan to do. The most interesting aspect was that he only added one minute of stoppage time to the first half! That must be a record for this World Cup! A controversy-free night for officials.
United States (4-3-3): Turner 7; Goal 7 (Moore 78), Zimmerman 7, Belt 7, Robinson 7; McKennie 7.5 (Aaronson 78), Adams 8, Musah 7.5; Weah 7 (Reyna 83), Wright 7 (Sargent 83), Pulisic 7.5
Subs (not used): Ferreira, Horvath, De La Torre, Long, Morris, Roldan, Carter-Vickers, Yedlin, Acosta, Johnson, Scally
MANAGER
Gregg Berhalter – 7/10
Kudos to the American manager. They won the tactical battle and England seemed scared for his team. They deserved at least a draw. Probably more if we’re honest. Now Berhalter’s side has a good chance of escaping the group. They had England’s number and that was worrying for Southgate.
US manager Gregg Berhalter won the tactical battle with Southgate on the opposite bench
And finally…
The woodwork – 9
The Savior of England. Probably their best performance, as it denied Pulisic what the United States felt would have been a worthy opener and potential winner. Everyone hail the bar!
The woodwork performed best at Al Bayt Stadium during the scoreless stalemate