The legend Pele referred to it as the "beautiful game," but the exact name has been disputed since the first time the round ball was kicked, as Americans refer to it as soccer and Europeans and the majority of the rest of the world refer to it as football.
After eight years of anticipation, the United States men's national team will face England on Friday in Al Khor, Qatar, in a high-profile matchup.
While England jumped to the top of Group B with a dominating 6-2 victory over Iran on Monday, the U.S. had to settle for a disheartening 1-1 draw with Wales.
It was an opening game the U.S. viewed as winnable and the squad played like it in the first half with an aggressive offense against the passive approach from Wales. But the early approach only yielded a goal from Tim Weah and a change in tactics from Wales led to Gareth Bales' 82nd-minute penalty kick.
England has three points and an important plus-4 in the goal differential tiebreaker. The U.S. and Wales have a point and Iran has none. The top two teams from the eight groups move to the single-elimination round. Iran plays Wales on Friday.
If the U.S. doesn't secure at least a point against England, it will go into the final match against Iran on Tuesday no better than third place, although Wales must still close out group play with a meeting against England.
U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner is confident of a result, that might not be necessary to advance but would go a long way toward earning a spot in the next round.
"England is a great team," he said. "They scored a lot of goals (Monday), and they've had tremendous success at international tournaments. So, they have a lot of quality and it's going to take a great effort, but I can't sit here and say we have no chance. Otherwise, why am I playing?"
England expects to be at full strength with the news that captain Harry Kane is healthy after a scan Wednesday showed no damage to his right foot. He exited in the 75th minute of the Iran match moments after a tackle left him limping.
"I think he is good, probably just a little bit sore," England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said Wednesday. "I'm sure he is fine. He was out on the grass with us today, which is good."
The U.S. and England last met in the World Cup in 2010 in a game that resulted in a 1-1 draw at Rustenburg, South Africa.
