Stodgy England toil in cold footballing custard but the message is don’t panic | Barney Ronay

Gareth Southgate's team delivered a performance protest but perhaps this should be expected at World Cup of bad energy

How to control the narrative, how to cool the air, to reverse the fevered expectation of an early tournament romp? Well, that was certainly one way.

Who knows, perhaps there was an element of masterful long-game vibes-chess about England's performance against the USA in the gleaming shell that is Al Bayt stadium.