Clash of youth in store as buoyant England take on US

DOHA : If you're good enough, you're old enough, so the saying goes, and the young guns of England and the United States added credence to that theory with eye-catching performances in their opening games at the World Cup this week.

On Friday the two nations meet in Al Khor where England's Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka will try to match the levels they reached in a 6-2 victory over Iran which put Gareth Southgate's side in command of Group B.

England have yet to beat the United States in World Cup meetings, suffering an unthinkable loss in 1950 that was regarded at the time as a national humiliation and playing out a 1-1 draw in South Africa in 2010.

But they will be oozing confidence after an emphatic return to form in their opening rout of Iran after a six-match winless streak, a game in which 19-year-old midfielder Bellingham scored the opener and 21-year-old Saka struck twice.

It was exactly the start England needed and the way they went about their business, with Bellingham at the heart of everything, was a breath of fresh air for fans who had begun to question whether Southgate was the man for the job.

Despite the soaring confidence England will be extremely mindful of Gregg Berhalter's callow American squad who, with an average age of 25, are the second youngest of the 32 nations assembled in Qatar after Ghana.

Timothy Weah scored a goal his illustrious father George would have been proud of to give the U.S. the lead over Wales, while fellow 22-year-old Sergino Dest and 19-year-old Yunus Musah also impressed on their World Cup bows.

Having not qualified in 2018, Berhalter, like Southgate, has put his faith in youth and is being rewarded, even if there was a sense of disappointment that a team which began with 11 World