Yunus Musah believes "the whole world will see" the United States' quality after they held England to a goalless draw at Al Bayt Stadium.

England are considered among the favourites for the World Cup, but they were on the back foot for long spells against the USMNT.

Neither team could forge a breakthrough, despite Christian Pulisic saying his side "showed dominance" at times.

Musah felt a draw was the fair result, but the teenager – who was eligible to play for England – was still enthused by the United States' performance.

Agreeing it was a game in which the team could send a message, the midfielder said: "I feel like the team played really well today, showed how great they are.

"Most of them are playing in great teams at a high level, and I feel like today the whole world will see the US can do good things.

"I guess time will tell. We can't just live for one game. We've got to do it consistently."

Playing England made for an extra special occasion for Musah, but the United States as a whole could take encouragement from taking the game to one of the world's leading sides.

"We said that numerous times. These guys are one of the favourites to win the tournament," Musah said. "They're so good.

"We knew that, and we had to work double hard today to make sure they didn't score. I'm proud of the team."

The USMNT's success in frustrating England was evident in the way the Three Lions were booed off at the final whistle, and Pulisic added: "I guess that's a positive sign when you play for the other team.

"It was a really good performance. There were stretches of the game where we had control and we had them pushed back in their own half.

"Of course, the opposing fans don't like to see that, especially when we're the 'underdogs', but we went toe-to-toe with them and put in a good performance."

But the United States remain winless and must now turn their attention to Iran, who beat Wales earlier on Friday.

"I feel like a constant theme that I'm seeing when we watch any game is it's about who wants it more," said Musah.

"You saw Iran, they were running and running and running, closing down and fighting for every single ball.

"At the end of the day, every team's got quality, so the team who wants it more comes out on top most of the time. That's what I saw.

"We have to be ready for that. We can't drop the intensity against them."

Harry Kane insisted England's drab performance against the United States was "not the end of the world for us" and kept the team in a strong position at Qatar 2022.

Captain Kane missed a late chance to make a breakthrough when he planted a header well wide as the game at Al Bayt Stadium finished goalless.

The USA were the better side for large parts of the game, but they passed up half-chances and England survived scares before improving in the closing stages.

"It wasn't our best performance, for sure," Kane told ITV. "We had some good spells with the ball and created some good positions, but we just didn't have the final product today.

"It's a great clean sheet, it puts us in a great position in the group."

After the 6-2 opening win against Iran, the expectations on England went up a level, but this will bring them in check.

"It was a complete contrast with the game against Iran, where we took our chances really well," Kane said, before complimenting the Americans.

"Look, overall they're a tough team, and we'll move on. They pressed us really well and made it difficult for us. I thought at times we dealt with it well, they're a good side and we have to respect that.

"A draw isn't the end of the world for us. We know we can play better than that, but it's a draw in the World Cup, no game is easy in the World Cup."

England had just eight shots, and they have only attempted fewer in two World Cup matches on record since 1966: six against the Republic of Ireland in 1990 and seven against Poland in 1986.

They have still never beaten the USA at the World Cup in three attempts, losing 1-0 in 1950 and drawing 1-1 in 2010 before this stalemate.

The Americans are now winless in their last 11 World Cup matches against European nations (D6 L5) since a 3-2 victory over Portugal in 2002. This was their first World Cup clean sheet against a European team since that famous win over England 72 years ago.

Kane was just happy England took a point, rather than subsiding to a dismal defeat, and they will round off their group campaign against Wales, looking to make sure of a last-16 place.

"I think after our first performance, people thought we were just going to landslide every team we play, but it's not the case, we played a well-organised team with quality players," Kane said.

"The clean sheet is really pleasing. A point's not what we came here for, but it leaves us in a really good position."

With eight goals in seven matches so far this season Khadijah ‘Bunny’ Shaw is the 2022/2023 Women’s Super League leading scorer. She is tied with Aston Villa striker Rachel Daley, who also has a similar shot to goal conversion rate of 30 per cent with the Jamaican.

What is impressive is that Shaw’s eight goals is one less than the nine she scored in all of last season, her first in the WSL after she transferred from Bordeaux in the French league where her 22 goals in her final season won her the Golden Boot. Those eight goals have lifted Manchester City Women to fourth with 15 points from seven games, after losing their first two matches of the season.

So what has made the difference this season that has seen the Jamaican regain the form that has defined her international and club careers to date?

The 25-year-old Shaw has scored 56 goals in just 38 matches for Jamaica, which makes the Jamaica's most prolific striker, male or female. In college, she scored 27 goals in 35 matches for the Tennessee Volunteers while At Bordeaux, she scored 32 times in 35 appearances for the club over two seasons.

She explained that her dip in form last season was caused by her adjusting to a new style of play.

“I have always been consistent,” she said. “In the beginning, City plays a certain way; they have a structure, a culture and the style of play in France was completely different from what I was used to so when I went to City it was like an eye-opener.”

She said the way City wanted to play was difficult for her to adjust to because even as Gareth Taylor is the head coach, Pep Guardiola’s philosophy is what holds sway.

“Pep plays a massive role in the club and to adjust to the way they wanted to play was very difficult and I was playing for minutes as well,” she explained, having to temporarily play second fiddle to Ellen White, who has since retired.

“After the first year, I looked back and reflected to see where I can get better, how I could improve. I watched a lot of film and when I came in (back from the off-season) I spoke with my video analysis guy and we spent a lot of time together so as the games go on I have tried to improve upon the areas in which I was lacking last season.”

Shaw will have a chance to improve her goal tally when Manchester City Women take on Brighton Hove Albion on Sunday, December 4.

Brighton lie ninth in the WSL with seven points from their seven games to date. They have conceded 26 goals in those seven games, the most by any team in the league this season. They seem ripe for the picking for the goal-hungry Jamaican.

Louis van Gaal believes the Netherlands must improve considerably if they are to win the World Cup, acknowledging Ecuador were "much better" than the Oranje in Friday's 1-1 draw.

The Netherlands and Ecuador sit locked together on four points in Group A after Enner Valencia cancelled out Cody Gakpo's opener at the Khalifa International Stadium, with the stalemate condemning hosts Qatar to an early exit.

Van Gaal's side were fortunate to hold off a much-improved Ecuador team after Valencia's equaliser, having scored with the only shot they mustered before the interval.

The Netherlands will only need a draw against bottom side Qatar to claim their place in the last 16 on Tuesday, but Van Gaal believes they must do better with sterner tests to come.

"If you want to become world champions, we need to improve a lot, because the quality of the opponents we have yet to face is at a much higher level," Van Gaal said.

The Netherlands failed to win a World Cup match after opening the scoring for the first time since 1998 (v Mexico), as Ecuador managed 15 shots to their opponents' two – the lowest tally recorded by a European team at the tournament since such data became available in 1966.

However, the Oranje are now unbeaten in their last 15 World Cup group-stage games (W11 D4), and Van Gaal was relieved by the end of Friday to avoid defeat against impressive opponents.

"I think we did not play a good match," Van Gaal said. "We didn't play well in ball possession, that was our problem in the first match [a 2-0 win over Senegal].

"All the second balls, all the duels were for Ecuador. There you cannot win, I believe.

"We're working on possession, and we will continue to work on that. Whether we will make it, I can't guarantee that. But I think we have several options in the midfield and I can try them out.

"We have lost sight of the balance here, but we can find it. The clever thing today is that we played the match and have one point against a much better opponent, that's how I see it."

Having led the Netherlands to a third-placed finish at the 2014 World Cup during the second of his three spells with the team, Van Gaal has now avoided defeat in all nine of his games at the finals, excluding penalty shoot-outs.

No coach has taken charge of more matches without losing in the tournament's history, with two-time winner Vittorio Pozzo also remaining unbeaten across nine contests.

England's winless record against the United States at the World Cup stretched to three matches following a goalless draw at Al Bayt Stadium.

Gareth Southgate's side knew they would become the first side to book their spot in the knockout stages with a victory but were unimpressive, with the USA being the better side throughout.

Christian Pulisic came the closest to deciding the match by striking the crossbar in the first half, while England only tested Matt Turner on a single occasion.

Neither side managed to muster much of a threat in the second period, with both sides forced to settle for a point and having work to do in their final matches on Tuesday.

Opportunities were limited in the early exchanges, Harry Kane seeing an effort deflected wide after fine build-up play from the Three Lions, while Weston McKennie blazed over the bar after finding space in the England box.

The USA put themselves on the front foot as the game progressed, Pulisic coming closest to breaking the deadlock with a fierce drive from outside the area that rattled against the crossbar.

However, England finished the half with their best chance, Mason Mount forcing a diving save from Turner.

The USA continued to be the better side into the second half, though they were unable to create opportunities to truly test Jordan Pickford, with England equally impotent in attack.

The result leaves Group D delicately poised heading into the final round of fixtures, with England's display a far cry from their prolific showing against Iran.

Jorge Burruchaga believes "you can feel" the absence of former team-mate Diego Maradona at the first World Cup since the ex-Argentina captain's death in 2020.

Maradona, who skippered La Albiceleste to glory in 1986, was remembered at an event to mark the second anniversary of his passing from a cardiac arrest at the age of 60.

Burruchaga – also part of that victorious side in Mexico 36 years ago – paid tribute to "a unique legend," whose presence he claims can be felt among his former team-mates.

"The last time we spoke was a couple of months before his passing," the former attacking midfielder told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We reunited when I returned to Argentina to coach Gimnasia La Plata. I can't say we were close friends, perhaps we had a closer bond on the pitch than off it, but we respected each other after a long path together.

"This is the first World Cup without him, and you can feel it. He is a unique legend, football lost its most valuable treasure. But I can feel his presence here among us, and I am not being rhetorical."

Burruchaga and Maradona combined for the winning goal in the 1986 final victory over West Germany, who recovered from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 with six minutes remaining at the Azteca Stadium.

The mercurial Maradona's perfectly weighted first-time throughball released Burruchaga, who raced away from the defence before scoring to seal their nation's second World Cup triumph.

"Diego was angry after Germany’s equaliser and told us a few things," the 60-year-old remembers. "We were up by two goals, I am not saying it was an easy match, but we had it in hand.

"Diego saw an upset Jorge Valdano [after Germany’s equaliser], but told him: 'No worries, we are going to win this.' And he made us win. After my goal, he celebrated and looked to the sky. I was so proud to see him happy thanks to my strike."

Argentina's latest quest for a third title – and what could be Lionel Messi's final shot at glory – began with a shock 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia in Group C, from which they will seek a response against Mexico on Saturday.

The ultimate prize in football is the only one missing from Messi's well-stocked cabinet, but Burruchaga hopes that will be rectified this year.

He added: "Over the last 40 years, the God of football has been Argentinean, and Messi would deserve the World Cup to crown an extraordinary career."

Neymar described the injury that has put his World Cup on ice as "one of the hardest moments of my career" after the Brazil star was sidelined by an ankle problem.

He has been ruled out of the Selecao's second Group G game against Switzerland on Monday and could also miss the tussle with Cameroon four days later.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward suffered a heavy knock to his right ankle after a challenge from Nikola Milenkovic in Thursday's 2-0 win against Serbia, needing to be substituted in the 80th minute.

He was fouled nine times in the game, more than any other player in a World Cup matchday one group game in Qatar. The next highest number was the five sustained by Spain's Gavi against Costa Rica.

Neymar is looking to crown his fine career with a World Cup triumph, and he is confident about getting back to full fitness and playing a role later in the tournament.

"The pride and love I feel for wearing the shirt has no explanation," he wrote on Instagram. "If God gave me the opportunity to choose a country to be born, it would be BRAZIL.

"Nothing in my life was given or easy. I always had to chase my dreams and my goals. Never wishing evil on anyone but helping those in need.

"Today has become one of the hardest moments in my career... and again in a World Cup. I have an injury yes, it's annoying, it's going to hurt but I'm sure I'll have the chance to come back because I will do my best to help my country, my team-mates and myself."

He was seen in tears on the Brazil bench towards the end of the game, and it would be a grim state of affairs for the 30-year-old if his injury is not one he quickly shakes off.

Neymar added: "Wait a long time for the enemy to knock me down like this? NEVER! I am a CHILD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE GOD and my FAITH is endless."

Fitness worries at the World Cup are nothing new for Neymar. He was forced out of the 2014 finals, which Brazil hosted, when he suffered a back injury in the quarter-final win against Colombia.

Across the 2014 and 2018 World Cups combined, Neymar was fouled a leading 44 times – or once every 21 minutes, more often than any other player impeded on at least 25 occasions.

Qatar have become the first side to be eliminated from the World Cup, with the host nation bowing out following the 1-1 draw between the Netherlands and Ecuador in Group A.

The Asian Cup winners were undone in their opening group match against the South Americans, losing 2-0, and fell to a 3-1 defeat to Senegal on Friday – becoming the first World Cup host to lose two matches in a single group round.

Qatar's defeat also saw them become only the third host nation to concede three goals in a single group stage match, after South Africa in 2010 and Russia in 2018 – both of whom lost 3-0 to Uruguay.

Felix Sanchez's side now head into their final group game against the Netherlands with nothing but pride to play for, with no host nation having been eliminated earlier in the World Cup than Qatar (two matches).

They join South Africa as the only hosts not to advance to the second round of the tournament, while failure to win against the Dutch would see them stand as the only host nation not to win a single game at the World Cup.

Qatar have at least found the net in the tournament, Mohammed Muntari making history by becoming the first player to score at the World Cup for his side, though it proved to be merely a consolation.

African teams should be confident of going far in the World Cup, and even winning the tournament, according to Senegal boss Aliou Cisse.

Senegal beat hosts Qatar 3-1 on Friday to get their first points on the board in Group A.

The Africa Cup of Nations winners lost star player Sadio Mane to injury before the start of the World Cup, and were unable to put away their chances in an opening loss against the Netherlands.

But Cisse believes his team, as well as other African sides in action in the Middle East – Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia – should have faith they can challenge the top nations.

Cisse pointed to the shock wins for Japan and Saudi Arabia, over Germany and Argentina respectively, as evidence to support his claim.

"Just look at how the World Cup is unfolding, with a lot of surprises," Cisse said.

"We've seen David bring down Goliath. Japan beat Germany, Saudi Arabia beat Argentina – anything is possible.

"All teams competing are worthy of being here. It's not like 30 years ago where the big fish were completely neutralising the smaller teams.

"I think it will be a World Cup full of surprises. Yes, an African country can win the World Cup, and I hope that country is Senegal!"

With their win over Qatar, Senegal became the first African side to beat the host nation at a World Cup; all of the previous four instances of an African side facing the hosts had seen them lose by an aggregate 12-2 score.

Cisse had called on his forwards to improve after the defeat to the Dutch. Boulaye Dia, Famara Diedhiou and Bamba Dieng answered their coach's call.

"Yes, we understood the message loud and clear," said Dia, when asked by Stats Perform if he felt the Senegal forwards had done what was asked of them.

"We were not efficient against the Netherlands. We had lots of scoring chances, we should have put some away.

"The coach honed in on this: efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. We need to get in front of the goal and create those chances.

"We're all very happy, all of the forwards able to score – happy days!"

The FIFA World Cup Golden Ball award should be renamed in Diego Maradona's honour, according to ex-Argentina team-mate Nery Pumpido.

The former Argentina captain, who won the award after leading his country to World Cup glory in 1986, was remembered at an event to mark the second anniversary of his death.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Maradona should be remembered at each subsequent tournament with a day of celebration for his significant impact on football.

Pumpido - goalkeeper of the victorious side in Mexico 36 years ago - believes his former team-mate could be honoured with a subsequent renaming of the Golden Ball, awarded to the best player at every World Cup Finals.

"It would be great if the award for the best player of the World Cup was renamed Diego Armando Maradona," he said. "It's a good idea."

Pumpido was one of many former Argentina players in attendance. Among them were 1978 World Cup-winning goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol, who felt "a tremendous source of pride" at honouring Maradona.

Meanwhile Jorge Valdano - the scorer of La Albiceleste's second goal in their 1986 final win over West Germany - fondly remembers his former captain's impact on the tournament in Mexico.

That included his inspirational display against England in the quarter-finals - the infamous 'Hand of God' goal accompanied by one of the greatest individual efforts in history.

"Like the great maestros of painting, he made sketches during the [1986] World Cup," Valdano said. "I remember the game against Uruguay in the round of 16, where Diego was unstoppable,

"I thought that it was impossible to play better than what Diego played that day, but no, that was just a sketch for his definitive work and like all maestros, he chose the right day, the right opponent, the right place for his work - against England.

"[Against England] he completed his most wonderful work that took him to another place. From that day, he became a hero, he became a legend, he became a symbol and that is why we are here.

"He did nothing more than elevate the Argentine national team and also world football. I propose that, despite the fact that the remembrance is necessarily sad, to remember him with joy. 

"If Diego has left us something, it is a debt of happiness and gratitude. I am very happy that he is still so present in all of us as this extraordinary call shows."

Argentina's latest quest for a third World Cup title - and what could be Lionel Messi's final shot at glory - began with a shock 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia in Group C, from which they will seek a response against Mexico on Saturday.

The ultimate prize in football is the only one missing from Messi's well-stocked cabinet after an astonishing career, but former midfielder Daniel Bertoni, who lifted the trophy in 1978, insists the Paris Saint-Germain forward needs help in his mission.

"Messi's legacy? He has to be a champion," he said. "It's not an obligation, the World Cup is not won by one player alone.

"Messi is the ace of spades, you have to put the other cards around him, I think he has to be accompanied by the team."

The Netherlands missed the chance to become the first team at the World Cup to cement a last-16 place as Ecuador's Enner Valencia cancelled out Cody Gakpo's sublime strike in Friday's 1-1 draw. 

As in Monday's win over Senegal, Louis van Gaal's team were far from their fluid best, though they still took an early lead when in-demand forward Gakpo rifled in from 20 yards.

However, Ecuador were lively throughout and were good value for their leveller, which made Valencia just the fourth player in World Cup history to score six consecutive goals for a nation at the tournament, though the striker was forced off injured just before the end of the contest.

That could impact his hopes of landing the Golden Boot, but Valencia's strike kept Ecuador and the Oranje locked together on four points in Group A, and condemned hosts Qatar to an early exit after their 3-1 defeat to Senegal.

The Netherlands needed just six minutes to take the lead, and they did so in spectacular fashion as Gakpo latched onto Davy Klaassen's flick-on before hammering into the top-left corner.

Ecuador offered a positive response to that setback, however, forcing Virgil van Dijk into two last-ditch interventions before Valencia tested Andries Noppert from range.

La Tri thought they had found a leveller on the stroke of half-time, but Pervis Estupinan's instinctive finish was chalked off after the offside Jackson Porozo was ruled to have blocked Noppert's view.

Ecuador were not to be denied again within four minutes of the restart though, as Valencia pounced to tap home the rebound when Noppert saved Estupinan's effort.

Gustavo Alfaro's side almost capped an encouraging display with a second when Gonzalo Plata rattled the crossbar with a fine left-footed effort.

However, Ecuador's mood was dampened by a significant blow in the closing exchanges as Valencia was carried off on a stretcher after going down clutching his knee.

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand is not frightened by Kylian Mbappe but conceded there is only so much you can do to stop the France striker.

Mbappe scored in Les Bleus' 4-1 win against Australia in their World Cup Group D opener on Tuesday and looked razor sharp alongside Olivier Giroud.

Hjulmand's men ground out a goalless draw against Tunisia, although keeping another clean sheet against the defending champions may be trickier to achieve.

Asked if he was frightened at the thought of trying to keep Mbappe quiet, Hjulmand replied: "I don't think it's good to be frightened. We have plans to stop him. At Parken [in September] we had a good plan, a good structure. He had two or three chances and no matter what plans you have against top players, you can't keep them down.

"We have carried out plenty of analysis to try to minimise his impact, we don't want him to show the talent he has."

Hjulmand is hoping some insider knowledge will also help stifle France's threat with captain Simon Kjaer a team-mate of Giroud at Milan.

He added: "I hope it's an advantage. A player like Giroud is very good at what he does. It's a pleasure seeing so many strikers in the latter stages of their careers showing how to move in the box, showing how to be dangerous in their positioning and showing how to finish in the box.

"Giroud is better now than he was before, he is very dangerous. Simon knows him very well and we have been talking about the small details."

Denmark enjoyed back-to-back wins against Didier Deschamps' side in the Nations League earlier this year but Hjulmand knows facing them at a World Cup is a different proposition.

"We have tested them a couple of times but this is a different tournament," he said. "But we know that if we play our best we have a chance of getting a good result.

"To be able to do that, we have to take a big step forward in quality from the first match."

Denmark and France kick off six hours after the other Group D encounter between Australia and Tunisia, and Hjulmand admitted the result of that game could affect his approach to the game.

"I won't watch that game, but I will obviously know the outcome as it will influence how we approach our game," he said.

"I am only really talking about the last 25 minutes. We are focused on winning the match but the other game will influence our approach."

Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez described Qatar 2022 as a "great World Cup" despite his side being on the verge of elimination following a 3-1 defeat to Senegal on Friday.

Mohammed Muntari gave them hope of snatching a point after Boulaye Dia and Famara Diedhiou had put Senegal 2-0 up, yet substitute Bamba Dieng rounded off Senegal's victory six minutes from time.

The result saw them became only the third host nation to concede three goals in a single group stage game, after South Africa in 2010 and Russia in 2018 (both 3-0 defeats to Uruguay).

Despite the disappointment of a likely early exit, Sanchez was full of praise for the tournament – the first to be held in the Middle East.

"We are aware of how tough this competition is, we wanted to go far but we have some limitations in our country," he said.

"It’s small, we play in a local league that is not the most competitive, but we have made a great effort.

"Expectations were to give good performances and organise a good World Cup. We wanted to show what we can do on the pitch.

"Most of the opponents are ahead of us but the players performed very well. Some moments we managed to compete.

"It's our first World Cup participation. If we could take part in it again, great.

"We want this to be a great World Cup at all levels. That's what we are experiencing – a great World Cup, full stadiums and good matches.

"We are very happy with the attendance. I think they really supported us and we're very proud of our fans who came here to show their support through the game.

Qatar round off their Group A campaign against the Netherlands next week, with Sanchez adamant his side will give everything they have got against Louis van Gaal's more illustrious opponents.

"We have a very tough game ahead of us," he added. "We intend to be competitive. We cannot miss a chance like this to play against the Netherlands, so our plan, the goal is to play a good game.

"We will be facing a team that hopes to go far in the World Cup. The key here is this country has a goal in mind. The World Cup will finish, but football will continue here. We want to keep developing talent, keep competing in Asia."

Neymar and Danilo have been ruled out of Brazil's clash with Switzerland through injury.

Both players sustained ankle problems in Thursday's 2-0 win over Serbia with Neymar later seen in tears on the bench after being caught by a strong challenge from Nikola Milenkovic.

Brazilian media were speculating the Paris Saint-Germain forward was unlikely to play again until the knockout phase but doctor Rodrigo Lasmar would only go as far as confirming both players would not be ready to take on Switzerland on Monday.

He said: "Neymar and Danilo started treatment on their injuries immediately after our match on Thursday.

"This morning they were re-evaluated, we thought it was important to have MRI scans in order to have further information regarding the recovery of both players.

"The scans showed a lateral ligament injury on Neymar's right ankle and a medial ligament injury on Danilo's left ankle.

"Both players remain in treatment. It's very important that we remain calm, tranquil and we will re-evaluate daily, in order to have the best information and make the best decisions regarding the injuries.

"We can tell you that both players will not play in the next match, but they remain in treatment and our objective is for them to recover in time for the rest of the competition."

The loss to injury of Neymar - Brazil's star man - should come as no surprise as he was once again targeted by the opposition at the Lusail Stadium.

He was fouled nine times by Serbia players, one shy of his own Brazil World Cup record (10 versus Switzerland in 2018), before being substituted with 10 minutes to play.

Across the 2014 and 2018 World Cups combined, Neymar was fouled a leading 44 times – or once every 21 minutes, more often than any other player impeded on at least 25 occasions.

Kai Havertz believes Ilkay Gundogan and Manuel Neuer's criticism of Germany's performance against Japan can spur them on in Sunday's do-or-die meeting with Spain.

Germany lost their opening World Cup game for just the third time (W13 D4) on Wednesday as Bundesliga duo Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano came off the bench to fire Japan to a shock 2-1 win.

Captain Neuer lamented Germany's failure to put the game to bed after the defeat, while Gundogan said Asano's goal was one of the most straightforward ever scored at a World Cup.

The shock result leaves Germany facing consecutive World Cup group-stage exits ahead of their meeting with Spain – who are favourites to top Group E after thrashing Costa Rica 7-0.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Havertz insisted his team-mates' comments had not caused any ill feeling, saying: "It was constructive criticism from Ilkay and Manu. 

"I can understand the boys. We talked about it. Such criticism is also good for the team because we continue to develop. It was a small snippet from an interview. Nobody is angry there.

"I can understand that negativity comes up from a lot of fans. There's a lot of people taking shots at us, but in my head I'm not worried. 

"I don't care what was in the past. It's a big game on Sunday. There's no use getting negative thoughts now. We are looking ahead."

Another early elimination would continue a run of poor tournament displays from Die Mannschaft, who went out in the last 16 at Euro 2020 after failing to make the knockout stages in Russia four years ago, but Havertz expects them to improve next time out.

"The statistics don't speak for us, but we have experienced a lot of change in recent years, which is not easy," the Chelsea forward added.

"That is not an excuse. What we have shown is not enough. But we will do everything we can to improve that."

The omens are not good for Germany, who have won just one of their last seven meetings with Spain (D2 L4) – a run which includes a humiliating 6-0 loss in Seville two years ago.

Julian Brandt does not believe that result will have any bearing on Sunday's fixture, and he hopes Germany can draw on their Euro 2020 experience in a bid to keep their World Cup dream alive.

"We're in a s***** situation and Spain come into the stadium with a 7-0 win behind them, but this is an opportunity for us. This can release a lot of energy," Brandt said.

"A little over a year ago, we also lost to France in the first game and then we won in the second game against Portugal. The guys understand such a situation. I don't think the 6-0 is still relevant."