team at the World Cup, there are two ways of looking at Friday’s pulsating scoreless draw with England.

The Americans outplayed one of the World Cup favorites in front of a monster eight-figure audience back home.

Despite not winning or scoring a goal, Friday’s performance was the best for the U.S.

coach Gregg Berhalter — who as a defender on that pre-VAR 2002 team was denied a goal by the arm of a German defender — envisioned when he took the helm of the national team four years ago with the aim of not just returning to the biggest event in sports, but also "changing the way the world views American soccer.".

"I talked before the World Cup about how seriously the team, the staff, is taking this responsibility to gain momentum for the sport in America," Berhalter said after his side kept a clean sheet against a European foe at the tournament for the first time since stunning England 1-0 in 1950.

Which brings us to the second way of looking at Friday’s game.

"Anytime you're in a World Cup and you get to go into the last group game controlling your destiny, that's a pretty good thing," he said.

Yet as a student of soccer history, Berhalter must also know that leaving points on the table is a recipe for disaster at any World Cup.

Because a draw will be enough for Team Melli to survive the first round for the first time, it’ll have the luxury of sitting back, absorbing pressure, and trying to eliminate the Americans with the same quick and efficient counterattack that was on full display against Bale & Co.

As well as it's played at times, it's put just two shots on target through 180 minutes at this World Cup.

"We want to capture the public's attention, we want to perform at a high level, we want to give them something to be proud of," Berhalter said.