USA captain Tyler Adams, 23, is hoping his good friend and former youth club teammate Tim Weah, 22, can carry on his fine form against an in-form England in today’s Group B game at the Al Bayt Stadium. Coming off a 1-1 draw with Wales, where Weah scored the opener before Gareth Bale ensured both teams shared points, USA need a win to put them in a good position to qualify for the second round.

“Tim is a special character. As a youngster, he used to play at Cosoms while I was at New York Redbull before I eventually did some scouting and got him over to my side. He later moved to France [French League] while I headed to the English Premiership. Tim is a great character and has matured over the years. It’s great to have him in the team and we hope he can keep scoring for us like he has in the past,” Adams said at the match-eve press conference.