Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner has warned England that the USA are capable of springing another World Cup upset tomorrow night.
England are firm favourites to book their place in the last-16 at Al Bayt Stadium, following Monday’s 6-2 thrashing of Iran. But the first week of the tournament has already seen Saudi Arabia beat Argentina and Japan stun Germany.
Turner believes the world game is “levelling out” and has told Gareth Southgate’s side that anything is possible.
“You can’t take any game for granted,” said the 28-year-old, who helped the USA to a 1-1 draw with Wales on Monday. “You want to go out, put on your best performance.
“The world of football is levelling out. National teams have game-plans, they’ve been investing in youth for a number of years, they have guys playing at the top level all over the world.
“When you have one team following the same message, you can beat anyone on any given day.”
Turner knows all about his Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka, who scored twice in the Iran match, but says he does not need to tell his colleagues about the threat the 21-year-old poses.
“It’s clear he’s one of the young stars of world football,” Turner said. “He’s a top, top player and you don’t need me to tell anybody on our team how much of a threat he poses in the game. He’s a really good player that can change any game.”
