World Cup news LIVE: England offer Harry Kane fitness update ahead of USA clash

Jesse Marsch believes the United States face a far tougher assignment against England at this World Cup than the one he was part of in 2010.

Marsch was a coach on Bob Bradley’s backroom staff as the USA stunned the Three Lions by earning a 1-1 draw in their opening group game in South Africa 12 years ago.

It was a tournament that saw England labour under Fabio Capello, despite having Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Ashley Cole among their starters, as they scraped through the group stages before being knocked out by Germany in the last 16.

Marsch, currently working in the Premier League as Leeds boss, reckons the current crop will have a much more difficult task playing against Gareth Southgate’s side on Friday.

Wales striker Kieffer Moore plans to torment Iran in the air just like England did.

England smashed six past Iran in their World Cup opener, with the Iranians having no answer to the Three Lions’ aerial power.

The 6ft 5in Moore watched the first half of that game before Wales set off for their tournament opener – a 1-1 draw against the United States – and is confident of wreaking more havoc on the Iran defence.

Asked if he had been licking his lips at Iran’s defensive problems, Moore said: “I was, yeah – they did struggle in the air. You could see England’s dominance in the box. They took a lead straight away and that set the tone for the game.

“It was 3-0 at half-time and England played really well to utilise those positions to get the ball into the box. If we can replicate that then hopefully we’ll get the same outcome.”

Kevin De Bruyne mocked his own man of the match award after Belgium’s unconvincing World Cup win over Canada on Wednesday night.

The world No2-ranked Belgian side struggled against their lively opposition and had goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to thank for a penalty save which helped earn a 1-0 victory.

Manchester City star De Bruyne had little impact as part of a disjointed Belgian midfield and was baffled by his post-match prize.

“No, I don’t think I played a great game,” a miserable-looking De Bruyne said after being told of his award. “I don’t know why I got the trophy — maybe it’s because of my name.”

Today’s action is underway with Switzerland vs Cameroon kicking off Group G, which also includes Brazil and Serbia.

You can follow the opening match of the day with our live blog:

John Herdman believes his Canada side proved they belong at the World Cup 2022 after they outshone Belgium only to slip to a narrow defeat.

Canada – 39 places lower than Belgium in the rankings – had earlier missed a penalty as Alphonso Davies’ tame effort was saved by Thibaut Courtois before they were potentially denied two further first-half spot-kicks.

Playing in their first World Cup in 36 years, Canada more than held their own and had 21 shots on goal compared to nine from Belgium.

Englishman Herdman guided Les Rouges back to the world stage following a fine qualification campaign – becoming the first coach to manage at both the men’s and women’s World Cups.

Williams’ grandfather died on Sunday and the Nottingham Forest full-back shared the sad news on social media after playing in Wales’ 1-1 draw against the United States.

“Yesterday was the toughest news I’ve ever had to face and that was listening to my mum tell me my grandad passed away last night,” Williams wrote on Monday night, dedicating the game and point to his late grandfather.

“To go from crying all day to start in a World Cup game was extremely tough but I got through it from the support of my team-mates and family.”

Jordan Pickford is hoping England get fair treatment from officials after boss Gareth Southgate said he was “worried” that his side had been used as an example during pre-World Cup referee meetings.

England were denied what looked like a clear spot-kick when Harry Maguire was grabbed by Rouzbeh Cheshmi early on in their 6-2 win over Iran on Monday.

The VAR decided not to intervene but later alerted the referee to a tug on a shirt in the England box which resulted in Mehdi Taremi scoring a last-gasp penalty, while a similar offence resulted in a spot-kick in Argentina’s shock defeat to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Gareth Southgate says Harry Kane is “fine” and fit to start against the USA on Friday. The England captain had to undergo a scan after receiving a blow to his ankle against Iran, but fears he could miss the second match of Group B have been eased.

“Harry is fine. He has worked slightly separately from the group but all good for Friday night,” Southgate said. “He had a scan [on Wednesday] to make sure everything is fine.”

Ronaldo’s Old Trafford contract was terminated with immediate effect on Tuesday as a result of the damaging tell-all interview in which he criticised both the club’s hierarchy and manager Erik ten Hag.

The 37-year-old has left United without a pay-off and will now play alongside international team-mate Fernandes as a free agent in Portugal’s opening World Cup game against Ghana on Thursday.

Fernandes will return to Old Trafford after the World Cup in Qatar without his compatriot but said that he does not feel under pressure to side with either Ronaldo or his club in the dispute.

“Some people were on the pitch. They thought it was all over. Because it was and the 11 Japan players were joined by the rest of the squad, all streaming across the Khalifa Stadium turf, headed for the corner in euphoric, exhilarating celebration of their greatest ever win. The turn of pace, it seemed, was not confined to the substitutes who overran Germany in a remarkable final half-hour.

“The buoyant Japanese were energised by the astonishing, by Shuichi Gonda’s quadruple save, by the goals the impact subs Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano delivered, by the sudden sense that, from a seemingly routine victory for Germany, this became the kind of occasion that will be remembered for decades. “A historical victory, to say the least,” stated their manager Hajime Moriyasu.”