World Cup Friday: US battles England; Americans seek repeat of 1950 tourney upset
DOHA, Qatar – The U.S. men’s team hits the field to take on England in Group B play at 2 p.m. ET Friday on FOX. The Americans are coming off a tough 1-1 tie against Wales, while England, a favorite to win the World Cup, defeated Iran 6-2 in their opening game. US beat England in 1950 World Cup
The first time the United States faced England at the World Cup, the hastily assembled American squad was a ragtag group that included a mailman, a grave digger, a dishwasher and a school teacher.
Few of the players had ever met before they headed to Brazil in 1950 to face powerhouse England, and the 1-0 upset victory by the United States is often likened to the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" win over the Soviet Union at the Lake Placid Olympics as being among the biggest moments in American sports history.
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The disparity between the two national soccer teams isn't nearly as wide 72 years later as England and the United States get set to play Friday in Group B. In fact, United States midfielder Tyler Adams said he's more frightened of spiders than he is of facing England.
The Americans are the underdogs following their 1-1 draw with Wales, while England is coming off a 6-2 opening win over Iran.
"England are still a big team at the end of the day, but the intimidation factor? I wouldn’t say there’s many things out there that intimidate me, other than spiders," said Adams, who plays for Premier League club Leeds.
"It’s fine for me, but obviously I’ve got to play against all those big players, so I’ve done it before. But we also want to show what we’re capable of and that U.S. soccer is developing and growing in the right way."
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But that 1950 victory for the Americans was a rare win against England, which has won eight of its 11 meetings against the United States. The upside? None of those victories were World Cup matches and the second meeting between the teams on soccer's biggest stage ended in a 1-1 draw in 2010.
United States midfielder Christian Pulisic doesn't want to hear about stats, rankings or predictions. The Americans failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and, following the opening draw, are tied with Wales with one point each in the fight to advance to the knockout stage.
England leads the group with three points. A win or draw on Friday would put the Americans in decent position to be one of the two teams to advance.
"We don’t look at the odds and we’re not at the World Cup just to make up the numbers," Pulisic said. "We go, we give it everything in every game we play, we make America proud. Wherever that takes us we have to wait and see." Injury concerns
A win for England would put the Three Lions into the round of the 16 with one game still to play, but coach Gareth Southgate has cautioned against complacency after the opening rout of Iran.
England captain Harry Kane, the top scorer at the 2018 World Cup, injured his ankle against Iran and defender Harry Maguire left the game in the 70th minute with blurred vision. Kane trained with the team in recent days and is expected to play Friday, while Maguire indicated he'll play in what will be his 50th appearance for the national team.
Southgate told his team it needs to be even better against the United States than it was against Iran, and he thought the two late goals conceded proved England got sloppy at the end of that 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," England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said. "But it’s about us as a squad being 100%. It’s about us taking the result from Iran and going into the U.S. game positive." Senegal 3, Qatar 1
Senegal sent host Qatar to another loss at the World Cup on Friday, winning 3-1 after a defensive error gifted the African champion the lead. Striker Boulaye Dia drilled in that first goal after Qatar defender Boualem Khoukhi tried to make a clearance and landed on his backside.
Famara Diedhiou made it 2-0 at the start of the second half Friday with a header from a corner. Substitute Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar's goal to make it 2-1. But Qatar's fightback lasted just minutes before Bamba Dieng put Sengal two goals clear again.
Boulaye Dia (L) and Pape Abou Cisse of Senegal celebrate after the 3-1 win during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group A match between Qatar and Senegal on November 25, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) Iran 2, Wales 0
Rouzbeh Cheshmi scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to break a scoreless stalemate and Iran went on to defeat Wales 2-0 at the World Cup on Friday. Cheshmi’s strike from outside the box was just beyond the diving reach of Wales backup goalkeeper Danny Ward, who was pressed into duty when starter Wayne Hennessey was sent off with a red card in the 86th minute.
Ramin Rezaeian added a second goal moments later and Iran wildly celebrated while some of the Welsh players dropped in disbelief to the field. Outside Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, the ongoing protests in Iran spilled over to the World Cup with pro-government fans harassing anti-government national team supporters.
Ben Davies of Wales vies with Ramin Rezaeian of Iran during FIFA World Cup Group B match between Wales and Iran on November 25, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) Expand Netherlands-Ecuador
Ecuador and the Netherlands both won their opening matches and their game Friday will pit striker Enner Valencia against forward Memphis Depay.
Valencia scored both of Ecuador's goals in the 2-0 win over Qatar before leaving with a sore knee but is set to play Friday.
"Enner will play against the Netherlands, there is no doubt about that," Ecuador coach Gustavo Alfaro said.
Depay returned from a hamstring injury to lead the Netherlands in its 2-0 win over Senegal. He came off the bench in that game but wants to start against Ecuador.
"He is a player who can make the difference," Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal said. "He will want to play, but I have to assess his form."
A win for either team would likely guarantee advancement out of Group A.