U.S. MNT Falls 3-0 to World Cup Semifinalists England at Wembley Stadium

LONDON (Nov. 15, 2018) — A U.S. Men’s National Team side averaging 24 years of age showed a resilient effort, but ultimately fell 3-0 to No. 5 ranked England in front of 68,155 fans at historic Wembley Stadium. Two first-half goals conceded in as many minutes gave the USA a 2-0 deficit at the break, before Callum Wilson’s 77^th minute strike closed the scoring for the 2018 FIFA World Cup semifinalists.

Carried by the home atmosphere, England carried much of the early possession, but the USA broke out in the 25^th minute and nearly pulled ahead. Weston McKennie played Christian Pulisic through on goal, with the MNT attacker breaking into the box alone only to see his close-range effort turned away via a brave stop from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Galvanized by almost conceding the opening goal, England marched right back down the field and pulled ahead thanks to a highlight-reel strike from Jesse Lingard in the 25^th minute. They doubled the lead two minutes later as Jadon Sancho connected with Trent Alexander-Arnold to beat Guzan inside the left post.

The USA came out of the locker room looking more confident, carrying much of the possession in the early second half. A small break in the action occurred in the 58^th minute as legendary England striker Wayne Rooney came on to make his 120^th and final appearance for the Three Lions.

Not long after Rooney’s entrance, Pulisic came close to cutting into the lead, picking up a ball on the end line only to see his close-range effort turned out for a corner kick in the 62^nd. Minutes later, substitute Tyler Adams played a short corner to Pulisic, whose cross picked out Bobby Wood only to see his header graze over the bar.

Despite positive signs in the attack, England came back to grab a third goal, as Fabian Delph’s cross from the left found Wilson, whose one-timed effort beat Guzan inside the near post.

The MNT closes out its challenging 2018 calendar with a match against four-time World Cup champions Italy on Tuesday, Nov. 20. Kickoff from the neutral Luminus Arena in Genk, Belgium is set for 2:45 p.m. ET and the match can be seen live on FS1 and UniMas.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
ENG – Jesse Lingard (Dele Alli) 25th minute: After Christian Pulisic nearly gave the USA a 1-0 lead, England came down the other end and grabbed the opener thanks to a break-taking strike from Jesse Lingard. Ben Chilwell played Dele Alli into space on the left. Dele cut back to the top of the box for Jesse Lingard, who took the space and measured a blinding effort that left a fully extended Guzan unable to keep out. ENG 1, USA 0

ENG – Trent Alexander-Arnold (Jadon Sancho) 27th minute: Still reeling from the opening strike, the USA conceded a second two minutes later. Jadon Sancho carved a pass through the back line to find Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right before the full back hit a low one-time blast to beat Guzan inside the left post. ENG 2, USA 0

ENG – Callum Wilson (Fabian Delph) 77th minute: England’s third goal came as Eric Dier switched fields to find Fabian Delph in space down the left. Delph played a clever centering ball and Callum Wilson timed his run to perfect, slotting home a first-time effort past Guzan from the six-yard box. ENG 3, USA 0 FINAL.

Key Save and Defensive Plays:
USA – Brad Guzan, 13^th minute: Though a beautiful diving save in the early going was negated by a foul called on a corner kick, Guzan was summoned back into action in the 13^th minute. Trent Alexander-Arnold played Jesse Lingard in alone down the right, with the Manchester United winger unleashing a wicked blast that Guzan turned away before Wil Trapp cleared the danger.

ENG – Jordan Pickford, 24^th minute: After sustaining a lot of early pressure, the USA nearly grabbed the lead when Weston McKennie collected the ball in midfield before sliding a pass through a cluster of England defenders. In an offside position when the ball was played, Bobby Wood held up his run, while Christian Pulisic took advantage of some confusion at the back to get through on goal. Into the box, Pulisic took the ball on his right and blasted an effort that Jordan Pickford read well from close range.

ENG – Jordan Pickford, 37^th minute: The USA worked to claw things back as Wil Trapp delivered a hard tackle on his fellow captain Fabian Delph at midfield to force the MNT into transition. Julian Green picked the ball up in space and drove towards goal, but his effort from distance was punched away by Pickford.

USA – Brad Guzan, 39^th minute: Playing down the left, Ben Chilwell lobbed a ball to the top of the area where Callum Wilson did well to take it down and play around Matt Miazga, but his low blast was saved by Guzan at the near post.

ENG – Michael Keane, 62^nd minute: After seeing his free kick nodded away, Pulisic chased down the ball at the end line, picking it from Alexander-Arnold before cutting into the box and seeing his tight-angled shot turned out for a corner kick by Keane.

USA – Brad Guzan, 71st minute: Holding the ball around the area, an England pass finally made its way to Wayne Rooney just inside the penalty arc. The D.C. United attacker didn’t receive it well, but still managed to hit an effort that Guzan was equal to.

USA – Brad Guzan, 90+1 minute: Rooney nearly ended his international career with a stoppage-time strike. Receiving the ball in the box, the England legend fought of Matt Miazga to send a low effort towards the right post, but Guzan got down to quick to deny the effort.

Additional Notes:

• The MNT starting XI averaged 24 years, 278 days and 26 caps
• The match marked Christian Pulisic’s second appearance of 2018 and first in an MNT uniform against a European opponent.
• Celebrating his 26th birthday, Bobby Wood earned the start up top.
• Wil Trapp captained the side for the eighth time. His eight appearances place him in a tie with fellow starters
•  Tim Weah and Bobby Wood for the team lead in 2018.
• The match marked the first time the back four of DeAndre Yedlin, Matt Miazga, John Brooks and Jorge Villafaña have played together.
• The game served as a send-off match for legendary England striker Wayne Rooney. Currently a member of D.C. United, Rooney ended his international career as England’s all-time scored (53 goals) and as its second-most capped player (120 appearances).
• The MNT to 2-8-1 all-time against England and is 0-3-0 against the Three Lions on English soil.
• With the MNT dressing 20 players, Luca de la Torre, Romain Gall, Jonathan Klinsmann, Aaron Long, Josh Sargent and Walker Zimmerman, are scratches from tonight’s match. Teams are allowed to make six substitutions. 

- U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report –

Match: Men’s National Team vs. England
Date: November 15, 2018
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Wembley Stadium; London, England
Attendance: 68,155
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET (8 p.m. local time)
Weather: 52 degrees; cloudy

Scoring Summary:    1          2          F
USA                             0          0          0
ENG                            2          1          3

ENG – Jesse Lingard (Dele Alli)        25^th minute
ENG – Trent Alexander-Arnold (Sancho)       27
ENG – Callum Wilson (Fabian Delph)            77

Lineups:
USA: 1-Brad Guzan; 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 3-Matt Miazga, 6-John Brooks, 19-Jorge Villafaña (18-Shaq Moore, 88); 8-Weston McKennie (14-Sebastian Lletget, 76), 20-Wil Trapp (capt.) (23-Kellyn Acosta, 70); 10-Christian Pulisic, 16-Julian Green (4-Tyler Adams, 62), 11-Tim Weah (15-Kenny Saief, 76); 7-Bobby Wood
Substitutes not used: 12-Ethan Horvath, 3-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 9-Marky Delgado, 25-Reggie Cannon
Head Coach: Dave Sarachan

ENG: 1-Jordan Pickford (21-Alex McCarthy, 46); 2-Trent Alexander-Arnold, 5-Michael Keane, 6-Lewis Dunk, 3-Ben Chilwell (22-Eric Dier, 58); 4-Fabian Delph (capt.), 8-Harry Winks (23-Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 70); 7-Jadon Sancho, 11-Dele Alli (16-Jordan Henderson, 58), 14-Jesse Lingard (10-Wayne Rooney, 58); 9-Callum Wilson (19-Marcus Rashford, 79)
Substitutes:  13-Jack Butland, 12-Harry Kane, 15-Kyle Walker, 17-Raheem Sterling, 18-Ross Barkley, 20-John Stones, Head coach: Gareth Southgate

Stats Summary: USA / ENG
Shots: 10 / 15
Shots on Goal: 2 / 7
Saves: 4 / 2
Corner Kicks: 3 / 3
Fouls: 7 / 8
Offside: 4 / 2

Misconduct Summary:
None

Officials:
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP)
Assistant Referee 1: Angel Nevado Rodríguez (ESP)
Assistant Referee 2: Diego Barbero Sevilla (ESP)
4th Official: Carlos del Cerro (ESP)

ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Christian Pulisic