MY ACCOUNT
Yunus Musah believes “the whole world will see” the United States’ quality after they held England to a goalless draw at Al Bayt Stadium.
England are considered among the favourites for the World Cup, but they were on the back foot for long spells against the USMNT.
Neither team could forge a breakthrough, despite Christian Pulisic saying his side “showed dominance” at times.
Musah felt a draw was the fair result, but the teenager – who was eligible to play for England – was still enthused by the United States’ performance.
Agreeing it was a game in which the team could send a message, the midfielder said: “I feel like the team played really well today, showed how great they are.
“Most of them are playing in great teams at a high level, and I feel like today the whole world will see the US can do good things.
“I guess time will tell. We can’t just live for one game. We’ve got to do it consistently.”
Playing England made for an extra special occasion for Musah, but the United States as a whole could take encouragement from taking the game to one of the world’s leading sides.
“We said that numerous times. These guys are one of the favourites to win the tournament,” Musah said. “They’re so good.
“We knew that, and we had to work double hard today to make sure they didn’t score. I’m proud of the team.”
The USMNT’s success in frustrating England was evident in the way the Three Lions were booed off at the final whistle, and Pulisic added: “I guess that’s a positive sign when you play for the other team.
“It was a really good performance. There were stretches of the game where we had control and we had them pushed back in their own half.
“Of course, the opposing fans don’t like to see that, especially when we’re the ‘underdogs’, but we went toe-to-toe with them and put in a good performance.”
But the United States remain winless and must now turn their attention to Iran, who beat Wales earlier on Friday.
“I feel like a constant theme that I’m seeing when we watch any game is it’s about who wants it more,” said Musah.
“You saw Iran, they were running and running and running, closing down and fighting for every single ball.
“At the end of the day, every team’s got quality, so the team who wants it more comes out on top most of the time. That’s what I saw.
“We have to be ready for that. We can’t drop the intensity against them.”
