The U.S. men’s soccer team on Friday returned to action, taking on England, as the stakes of the group stage of the World Cup heighten.
The big picture: England is the favorite to win Group B — which also includes the U.S., Wales, and Iran — and advance to the knock-out round of the tournament.
- If England comes out on top, the U.S. will aim to secure Group B’s second spot, which will also advance to the elimination stage.
- The 2022 World Cup is the U.S. men’s team’s first appearance in eight years, after they failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament.
State of play: England beat Iran 6-2 earlier this week, while the U.S. tied 1-1 against Wales in both of the teams’ World Cup openers.
- Friday’s game is the biggest test yet of the team’s “golden generation” of players, which may be the most talented squad in U.S. history, Axios’ Kendall Baker and Thomas Oide report.
What they’re saying: “It’s obviously a huge opportunity to fast-track the impact that we can have,” captain Tyler Adams said, per ESPN.
- “These are the games where [it’s a] high-pressure, privileged moment to step on the field against some of these guys.”
- “We respect them, probably mutual respect between both teams, and when you get a result in a game like this, people start to respect Americans a little bit more,” he said.
Catch up quick: England finished in fourth place at the 2018 World Cup.
How to watch: The game kicked off at 2pm ET and all games are being shown in the U.S. on Fox and FS1.
Go deeper: The World Cup of controversy
