There are times when I feel I’m a little more positive about the U.S. than some of my colleagues who have a more … vested interest in the team’s success. But the three of us inside Al Bayt have agreed that’s an extremely encouraging 45 minutes for Coach Gregg Berhalter’s team.
It weathered England’s early storm and then asserted a degree of control. Weston McKennie should have scored; Pulisic and Wright might have. The danger, of course, is that the U.S. can’t quite maintain the intensity needed to keep England at bay, a task that will become considerably more difficult if Gareth Southgate dips into the enviable resources on his bench.