Thousands of USMNT fans stay behind to applaud players after they shut out England at the World Cup – and players go over to thank them for their support – with Christian Pulisic admitting their ‘cheering pushes us’
- Sportsmail’s reporter Kathryn Batte filmed the classy interaction from Qatar
- At one point in the second half, Pulisic hyped US fans before taking a corner kick
- The Chelsea winger told Fox Sports that ‘there was a lot of positives’ from Friday
- The US needs a win its final group game vs. Iran to qualify for the knockout stage
- Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results
Fans of the Red, White and Blue stayed behind to applaud the USMNT after its 0-0 draw against England on Friday, with Christian Pulisic admitting that their support in Qatar ‘just pushes us along so much.’
In footage filmed by Sportsmail’s reporter Kathryn Batte from the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, thousands of American fans were mostly seen dressed in red and white stripes, while waving US flags to their country’s players, who applauded them in return for their invaluable encouragement from the stands.
‘Today was great,’ said Pulisic on his tactics to hype up the American crowd when he’d take corner kicks in Friday’s game. ‘Just seeing all the American fans and the way that they were cheering, it just pushes us along so much.’
Christian Pulisic hyped the American crowd by gesturing at them to get up on their feet in the second half of 0-0 draw against England
‘We’re so grateful and we’re thankful for everyone back home when watching and just all the support.’
Asked on his takeaways from the goalless result, the US and Chelsea winger told Fox Sports’ Jenny Taft: ‘I think there was a lot of positives.’
‘We had stretches even in the first half where we looked dominant and created some chances and unfortunately couldn’t finish some of them off. We managed the game quite well and, you know, to come away with a draw against them is obviously, a pretty good result, but we felt that we could have even won the game.’
Pulisic takes a corner in front of USA fans, who were in full voice, throughout Friday’s game
Reflecting on hitting England’s crossbar in the first half, the 24-year-old said that he and his teammates ‘just have to be slightly more clinical and just continue to be aggressive and creating more and more chances.’
Aware that the team is now in control of its destiny ahead of its final Group B game against Iran, Pulisic revealed what he expects from himself, as well as his teammates.
‘It’s all about winning the game so we got to come out very aggressive and win the game and move on to the next round. I’m very confident that we can do it.’
Despite being man of the match against England, Pulisic expects nothing else but a win vs. Iran
The US plays Iran on Tuesday for a spot in the round of 16. Iran beat Wales 2-0 earlier and sits second in Group B with three points, one more than the Americans.
A win against the US would have advanced England into the knockout stages, but the Three Lions rarely looked in control. Its supporters were ready to celebrate a late winner when Harry Kane came close to scoring with stoppage time header.
‘It wasn’t the best performance for sure,’ said Kane. ‘Good spells with the ball, but we didn’t quite have the final product. Clean sheet puts us in a great position in the group.
‘We had two or three opportunities and didn’t put it away.’
