Party like it’s 1776?
Never has a U.S. men’s national team side looked quite as strong as this year’s World Cup squad. And despite a subpar second half showing against Wales, the Yanks seem as ready as ever to battle against some of the world’s best sides.
England, though, is a whole different kind of test. The Three Lions are fresh off the heels of an emphatic 6-2 shellacking of Iran, and Gareth Southgate’s squad looks poised for another deep run in international competition, as was the case in 2018 and 2021.
The U.S.’s clash with their English counterparts has plenty of revolutionary precedent. But the question remains: can the plucky Americans beat their more established cousins from across the pond?
Perhaps the best way to answer that is to look at history. While the Stars and Stripes haven’t been much of a soccer power (at least in the men’s game) over the years, they have faced off against their British brethren more than a few times.
Some have ended positively. Most haven’t. For all the USA’s struggles against their former overlords, though, the Americans are yet to suffer the bitter taste of defeat at the hands of England in major international competition. That’s got to be worth something, right?
MORE: Watch USA vs. England live on fuboTV (free trial)
With that, here’s the history of the rivalry between U.S. and England, two sides that have tended to sit in diametrically different positions in the global soccer order over the years.
