Southgate tells England to ignore the boos after limp World Cup draw with USA

USA attacker Christian Pulisic hits a shot against the crossbar in the first half during their goalless draw with England at Al Bayt Stadium on November 25, 2022. Getty

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford cannot stop Christian Pulisic's shot hitting the crossbar. AFP

USA forward Christian Pulisic after hitting the bar. AFP

Harry Kane sees his shot deflected wide for corner in first half. EPA

USA goalkeeper Matt Turner saves from England's Mason Mount in first-half injury-time. AP

England manager Gareth Southgate. Reuters

USA's Haji Wright challenges Harry Maguire of England for a header. Reuters

England captain Harry Kane shoots for goal but the strike is deflected out for corner. AP

England's Mason Mount after going close to scoring in the first half. Reuters

England forward Harry Kane. AFP

England's Jack Grealish goes to tackle Shaq Moore of the United States. AP

England forward Bukayo Saka is challenged by USA's Tyler Adams. AFP

Gareth Southgate has told his England players to block out the noise after they were booed off following an underwhelming 0-0 draw against the USA at the World Cup on Friday.

England could have become the first team to punch their ticket to the last 16 with victory over the United States but instead will count themselves lucky after a lethargic display.

It was in stark contrast to their high-tempo, 6-2 win over Iran in their Group B opener, though Southgate's side remain in control of the group on four points with only Wales to play on Tuesday.

England fans at the Al Bayt Stadium made their feelings known as a vociferous blast of jeers echoed around the stands at the final whistle.

But Southgate insisted his players must ignore the criticism because he had no complaints about their performance.

"Were we booed off? I'm not sure if that was aimed at us. Personally, I'm really pleased with the application of the players against a really tough opponent," Southgate said.

"Of course I want our fans to go home happy and I want our fans at home to have a smile on their faces. We haven't managed to achieve that today. But I can't let that affect the team.

"We have to stay calm in these moments. We've been through tournaments before.

He added: "This is the tournament of external noise. There will be another layer of that I'm sure but we are on track. We can still win the group and that has got to be our target."

Player ratings

ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 6: Shouted at the sluggish defence in front of him in the first half. Beaten by a Pulisic shot, but saved by his crossbar. Shouts became fury in the second half on a frustrating night in Qatar. Getty

Kieran Trippier 6: Not close enough to McKennie for the USA’s best chance of the first half and wasn’t close to Pulisic when he hit the bar. Hard night as the athletic opponents pressed well. AP

John Stones 7: Last man and alert to Pulisic as the US pressed in the first half. Passed to Maguire, who passed back to him, then Stones passed back to Maguire, who passed back to him. Ad infinitum. But they defended well. AFP

Harry Maguire 8: Skilful run at the US goal after 10 minutes, but too poor too often in the first half with his marking. Alert for Pulisic’s corners. In fact he won every US corner. England’s best player. Not the game’s best player. AFP

Luke Shaw 7: Two smart first half passes forward in a grim first half for England. Booked for a bad challenge on Weah. Great late free-kick in for Kane. Getty

Jude Bellingham 5: Excellent against Iran, mediocre against the USA. No key passes, shots and outclassed by McKennie. Getty

Declan Rice 5: Couldn’t get near McKennie in the move which saw Pulisic hit the bar. Lacked the energy he had in the game against Iran. Reuters

Mason Mount 5: Poor in the first half as USA dominated in the middle, but had the best effort of a poor first half from England. England’s midfield looked tired. AFP

Bukayo Saka 5: Good on the ball going forward, less effective defending. But it was all so poor. Getty

Raheem Sterling 6: Combined with Mount in one attack, but the Chelsea player did little. Tried to find space but teammates weren’t finding him. Getty

Harry Kane 6: Had more touches in the England box than the USA box. Late header went wide. “Wasn’t our best performance for sure, we didn’t have the final product. It was a contrast to the game v Iran and we weren’t clinical.” Reuters

SUBS: Jack Grealish (On for Sterling 68’) 5: Good feet, but the boos at the end showed what fans thought of a dull game. Getty

Jordan Henderson (On for Bellingham 69’) 5: Failed to help England get a grip on midfield. Reuters

Marcus Rashford (On for Saka 78’) N/A. Getty

UNITED STATES RATINGS: Matt Turner 7: Arsenal’s back-up goalkeeper did not have serious save to make until first-half injury-time when he palmed a Mount strike out for corner. Not much else to do bar deal impressively with crosses into box. AP

Sergino Dest 6: AC Milan full-back found some space down right in first half but either chose wrong option with pass or sent over disappointing crosses. Not happy at all when taken off in second half. EPA

Walker Zimmerman 8: Threw himself in front of ball to deflect Kane shot wide for corner in 10th minute and helped keep England’s key strike threat very quiet. AFP

Tim Ream 8: Fulham centre-half coped comfortably with what little England threw at him as the US were very well organised at back. AP

Antonee Robinson 7: Second Fulham defender in team, left-back looked to bomb on whenever possible although had to be wary up against Saka – but helped restrict Arsenal attacker’s threat to very little. AP

Weston McKennie 7: Juventus midfielder missed glorious opportunity to open scoring when he blazed first-time shot over bar midway through first half. Blasted another chance way over bar just after break from edge of box. Shooting aside, was impressive performance. EPA

Tyler Adams 8: Neat, tidy and quick with the pass – everything England were not as American made opposition look pedestrian at times. Screamed in delight after one excellent tackle on Saka early in second half. AFP

Yunus Musah 8: Former England youth-team player helped USA dominate midfield for large chunks of the match. Relentless in his pressing and good in possession. EPA

Tim Weah 7: Scorer in first match against Wales and nearly supplied the opening goal here but McKennie skied over from his ball into middle. Pace always and movement always a threat. AP

Christian Pulisic 7: Chelsea attacker smashed ball against crossbar with fine first-half strike that had Pickford in England goal beaten in closest game came to goal. Getty

Haji Wright 6: Brought in for Josh Sargent as only change to starting XI, headed difficult chance wide in opening 20 minutes and held ball up well although never looked like scoring. EPA

SUBS: Brenden Aaronson (On for McKennie 78’) N/A. Getty

Shaq Moore (On for Dest 79’) N/A. Getty

Giovanni Reyna (On for Weah 83’) N/A. PA

Josh Sargent (On for Wright 83’) N/A. AP

England will qualify for the last 16 as long as they avoid defeat by a four-goal margin to Wales on Tuesday.

Southgate admitted England lacked the verve and quality that blew away Iran, blaming their sluggish showing on an emotional comedown and a tenacious effort from the US.

"The players were very down and disappointed after the game but I told them that's not how it's going to be. They showed another side to their game and that will be important going forward," Southgate said.

"We were coming off the emotional high of the first game. To find that same energy was always going to be a challenge. The US front six make it so difficult to get at their defence.

"We lacked a bit of zip. We weren't able to create many chances. I'm sure there will be a lot of noise about the performance but not a lot of teams go through with nine points."

England forward Raheem Sterling shakes hands with head coach Gareth Southgate as he leaves the pitch. AFP

Southgate played down suggestions that Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling had stormed down the tunnel after being substituted following an anonymous performance.

"Raheem started refuelling straight away. He is one of the players on dope testing. I think he went to the bench first and then went in," Southgate said.

Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane believes his side remain in a "great position" to reach the knockout stages.

"In the game against Iran we took our chances really well. Today we had two or three good opportunities and we didn't quite put it away," Kane told ITV.

"A draw isn't the end of the world for us, it puts us in a great position in the group and we look forward to the next one.

"After our first performance people thought we were just going to landslide every team we play, but it's not the case."

USA coach Gregg Berhalter speaks with Christian Pulisic after the 0-0 draw with England. Getty Images

United States boss Gregg Berhalter was pleased by his side’s display against England, setting up a make-or-break encounter with Iran who beat Wales 2-0 earlier in the day.

“A disciplined performance by the group,” he said. “The final product could still be better.

“Overall, pleased with the performance of the group and most importantly the belief because that never wavered.

“In the end it sets up our first knockout game of the World Cup basically. We win or we’re out of the World Cup.”