November 25, 2022 World Cup news and highlights

The US Men’s National Team battled to a scoreless draw against England at the World Cup in Qatar on Friday, and both teams can still advance to the knockout stage from Group B with another match to play.

England tops the group with four points, followed by Iran with three, the US with two and Wales with one. (Teams earn 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.)

England faces Wales and the United States plays Iran on Tuesday.

The US must beat Iran to advance. It would mark their first victory in Qatar, as they've tied twice thus far.

England can advance with at least a draw on Tuesday. They thrashed Iran to start their campaign, winning 6-2.

The US and England have tied, 0-0, in just their third match in World Cup history.

The Group B game was considered a key test for the young, promising Americans, and they held their own in the scoreless contest.

The US's hopes of progressing into the knockout rounds are still in its own hands, knowing a win against Iran on Tuesday will see it through to the last 16.

The US has continued its dominance into the second half and has England pegged into its own half of the pitch.

It’s been wave after wave of attack, but the Americans can’t quite find the breakthrough.

Christian Pulisic has taken a number of corners, which has whipped up the crowd behind the England goal. The forward has been encouraging them to make even more noise.

The US needs to capitalize on this period of play – or the team may regret it.

England's players once again took a knee on the pitch before the start of their match against Team USA on Friday, a gesture the team's coach has described as an act of solidarity.

The England team and Premier League clubs have been taking a knee before matches for several years as an anti-racism gesture. They have done so before both matches so far at Qatar 2022.

After defeating Iran on Monday, manager Gareth Southgate said the kneeling was a way for his players to make their voices heard.

“People know what we stand for,” Southgate said. “People know this group of players, you know, we’re taking the knee because it’s something we feel we can make a difference with. And there are some things that I’m not sure we’re going to be able to make a difference with and therefore we should channel our energies in the right directions.”

More context: Teams have been walking a fine line in Qatar, with players facing potential sanctions if they protest the country's treatment of LGBTQ people and other human rights issues.

England captain Harry Kane is among the most prominent players not wearing a “OneLove” armband during the tournament as originally planned, after learning players could receive yellow cards for the display. The armband features a striped heart in different colors to represent all heritages, backgrounds, genders and sexual identities.

The second half has started in the crucial showdown between England and Team USA at the World Cup in Al Bayt Stadium.

The US and England teams are tied 0-0 in their pivotal World Cup match after an exciting first half.

It’s been a no-nonsense half of football, with only one minute of added time, a record low number for this tournament.

We'll see what the second half brings!

Just like they did it their opening game against Wales, the Americans have started this match at a high intensity.

Despite England looking threatening in the early exchanges, the US has set about making its opposition’s life difficult by smothering their space — and the US fans behind the goal are loving it.

American fans are enjoying seeing their team do more than hold their own, taunting the England team with the chant, “It’s called soccer.”

Both teams have gotten a few close shots on goal.

The best chance so far came from Christian Pulisic, who launched a screaming shot in the 33rd minute that crashed off the crossbar and went behind the goal.

The question remains whether the US can keep this up for 90 minutes. It couldn’t against Wales in a 1-1 tie on Monday.

We have kickoff! The US vs England World Cup match has started at Al Bayt Stadium in the city of Al Khor in Qatar.

It's a key test for the USMNT's so-called "Golden Generation," and the third meeting between the two teams in World Cup history.

Ahad of the World Cup showdown between the US Men's National Team (USMNT) and England on Friday, US Soccer Federation CEO and Secretary General JT Batson told CNN that the team is feeling ready for the competition. 

"The team looks good; the team is feeling good, they were in good spirits. … England looked great in the first game and we know we’ve got some stiff competition, but the guys are up for it, which we’re excited about," he told CNN’s Becky Anderson. 

"The team is confident. We have a great record in the World Cup against England, and we look to keep that rolling today," he said.  

The last time the US participated at the men’s World Cup was eight years ago. And with the match falling during the Thanksgiving holiday, it could be the most-watched game of soccer in US history. 

"My entire family was reorienting our Thanksgiving plans around being together to watch this game; I know our family was not alone in that. The numbers are going to be incredible, the excitement is palpable and we’re looking forward to it," Batson said. 

So far, Qatar World Cup ticket sales have surpassed 3 million according to FIFA, with America ranking as one of the top nations in those sales. Batson said that speaks to the growth of the game in the US. 

"Americans love big competitions, and of course, we love to win. Nothing gets bigger than the World Cup. The growth of the game in the States has been incredible over the past few decades. … I think this is only going to grow," he said, adding that he predicts the US will dominate the most tickets sold at the Women’s World Cup next year.   

In a historic accomplishment, the US Soccer Federation and the United States Women’s National Team USWNT reached an agreement to end a dispute over equal pay in February. Asked why it took so long, he told CNN that they have "long been committed to this."

"One of the biggest obstacles was actually the FIFA World Cup prize money because, it’s not just equal pay on what US Soccer pays the players, it’s also equalizing the World Cup prize money. And how do you do that when the men’s World Cup prize money is demonstrably larger than the women’s? They agreed to share, so it’s really transformational in terms of what it means not just for football or soccer, but for what it means broadly for sport and society. We’re really proud of that," he said. 

"We’ve long been a leader in women’s football, we know the rest of the world is fortunately now investing in that which is exciting, and we want to continue that investment to be the leader for decades to come," he continued. 

The USMNT showed their support for the LGBTQ+ community by having a rainbow-themed team logo inside their training facility. Batson said that speaks to the team’s "long history of supporting the LGBTQ community."

"One of the beauties of America is its diversity. We have players from all over the world, from all over the country, all sorts of different backgrounds and different perspectives. So we really want to give them the platform to advocate on things that are important to them, whether it’s gun violence, Black Lives Matter, basic human rights. Anything beyond that, we want to support them," he said.