AL KHOR, Qatar (AFP) — England Captain Harry Kane believes his side remains in a “great position” to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup despite a disappointing 0-0 draw with the United States.

Gareth Southgate’s men made a stunning start to the tournament in Qatar with a 6-2 demolition of Iran but were restricted to precious few chances by the USA.

A point keeps England top of Group B and they will qualify for the last 16 as long as they avoid defeat by a four-goal margin to Wales on Tuesday.

“In the game against Iran we took our chances really well. Today, we had two or three good opportunities and we didn’t quite put it away,” Kane told ITV.

“A draw isn’t the end of the world for us — it puts us in a great position in the group and we look forward to the next one.

“We know we can play better than that, for sure, but it’s a draw in a World Cup. There are no easy games in a World Cup.

“After our first performance people thought we were just going to landslide every team we play, but it’s not the case.”

Southgate conceded he expected it would be tough for his side to reach the highs they did against Iran on Monday.

“I knew after such a high it would be difficult to replicate that performance so I’m really pleased with how the players applied themselves,” said Southgate.

“Some of our quality in the final third could have been a little bit better but we’ve shown great resilience to defend against an opponent that kept asking questions and really, we’ve controlled the game well from the back.”

England have qualified from the group stages with a game to spare in their previous two major tournaments under Southgate as they reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and final of Euro 2020.

However, he believes it is unrealistic to expect that level of comfort in the group stages.

“Silver medal today was a point because it puts us in a really strong position in terms of qualification,” he added.

“If we can win our last game we win the group — and the objective is to get out of the group.

“You’ve got three games to do it. We’ve done it in two in the last two tournaments [but] it’s very unrealistic to expect that every time.”

A draw leaves the USA a point behind Iran and two adrift of England heading into the final game, meaning the Americans must beat Iran to progress.