England booed off pitch after drab USA draw but bullish Southgate is ‘pleased’

ENGLAND were booed off the pitch after they limped to a goalless draw with the USA – but Gareth Southgate insists he was ‘pleased’ with the performance.

The Three Lions never really got going and failed to create clear cut chances throughout the World Cup stalemate.

But the Three Lions are still guaranteed a place in the last 16 — unless Wales hand them a four-goal thrashing in Tuesday’s final Group B game.

Even if Wales were to beat England by four goals, they would still qualify if Iran and USA draw.

England fired blanks against the Yanks, just four days after they smashed six past Iran, but bullish boss Southgate hailed his side’s ‘great resilience’ against the Americans.

He said: “I am really pleased with how our players applied themselves.

“We didn’t quite have that same zip as against Iran. That is going to happen. It is tournament football.

“We are not going to sweep through everyone without having nights like that.

“We have to show different qualities to get a result. But we have shown great resilience to defend against an opponent who kept asking us questions.

“We controlled the game well from the back but were not able to open up with that clear-cut chance.”

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Skipper Harry Kane admitted: “It was not our best display. We had some good spells.

“We just didn’t come up with the final product. It was a complete contrast to Iran, where we took our  chances really well.

“We had two or three opportunities  and we didn’t put them away tonight. The USA are a tough team.

“They pressed really well and we knew they would come out and make it difficult for us. They are a good side and we have to respect them.”

And Kane added: “The result isn’t the end of the world. It puts us in a good position in the group. We know we can play better than that.”