USA punch above their World Cup weight against England once again

The Americans dominated for large stretches on Friday night against a team many thought would hand them a painful lesson

There's a saying in fashion that two is a coincidence but three is a trend. Say what you want about the United States still having never lost to England at the World Cup and the abbreviated sample size behind it, but there must by now be something about the Americans' habit of elevating their game when they meet the English on soccer's biggest stage.

They played for the first time in 1950, when an American team of amateurs including a mailman, a dishwasher and a hearse driver famously bucked the odds and marred England's tournament debut with a 1-0 stunner in Belo Horizonte. Then came a 1-1 draw six decades later in South Africa, when Rob Green's goalkeeping gaffe canceled out Steven Gerrard's early strike.