England's Three Lions were tamed tonight by the USA in their second World Cup match - but are still likely to qualify unless Wales preside over a mammoth victory.
The 0-0 bore draw tonight placed special emphasis on the next game against Gareth Bale and his countrymen.
England are still highly likely to make the next stages of the competition with only a four goal-difference thrashing by Wales possible to derail that.
It was already being dubbed the Battle of Britain as excitement peaked this evening.
Before the match tonight it seemed inconceivable Kane and co would not go straight through tonight.
But a disappointing 90 minutes left them needing to get a result in the last game.
The match had started well when Kane had a spectacular chance in the ninth minute which was deflected out for a corner.
But Three Lions fans' hearts were in their mouths on 25 minutes as Weston McKennie fluffed a chance for the US to go ahead in the half's best chance.
Manager Gareth Southgate admitted: 'I knew it would be difficult for us. We didn't have quite have that same zip
'But that is going to happen we are not going to roll through a tournament. The objective is to get out of the group. We have done it in the first two games in the past two tournaments.'
It was the US that narrowly had the best of the first 45 minutes, imposing real pressure on England.
The second half followed a similar pattern and Jack Grealish was brought on as the clock ticked to 70 minutes, but did not immediately create much impact.
With the match stuck in a stalemate and few scintillating moment for supporters to enjoys, the stadium’s giant screens appeared to catch a fan asleep.
It was down to Marcus Rashford in the 86th minute to curl an attempt in, only for it to be caught by US keeper Matt Turner.
Then Kane sent a great header wide from a corner in the dying moments of the match.
England fan Umer Gupta, 24, told MailOnline: 'It's not the worst outcome we could have had.
'I just thought at the last moment they were going to do it - but they didn't'
American fans goaded their rivals by repeatedly singing: 'It’s called soccer…it’s called soccer.’
In the first half they had called out ‘Pour the tea in the harbour.’
In 2019, US women’s star Alex Morgan similarly taunted England when she mimed sipping tea at the World Cup semi-final after scoring the winning goal.
As is customary now, England took the knee before kick off, but there was no sign of the rainbow armband that's controversy dogged the competition build-up.
Earlier they had belted the national anthem as they fired themselves up to take on their American adversaries on the pitch.
They also sang God Save The King before their crunch clash against USA kicked off.
David Beckham, who has kept an uncharacteristically low profile, slipped into the stadium shortly before kick-off and took a seat in a hospitality box.
Captain Harry Kane, 29, looked focused in the tunnel before the squads came out, as a spectacular light and fireworks show heralded their arrival.
More than 8,000 England fans were inside the Al Bayt stadium in the hope of helping to roar them to victory.
Kane's men face a tough test against the team that features a number of Premier League stars, who play at Leeds United.
Earlier fans were guided to buses from the nearest metro station for a 25-minute journey to reach the ground in Al Khor, north of Doha.
England fan Jim Noyce, 59, from Rugby, arrived on a shuttle flight from Dubai and questioned how smoothly things will run at the 68,895-capacity stadium.
He said: 'Compared to where we were on Monday, this is a real trek.
'The people are friendly, really happy, can't do enough for you, I just think they weren't expecting the number of people to come.'
He added: 'For us we've got no panic, we don't go home until eight o'clock tomorrow morning so, worst scenario, we'd have to get a taxi.
'I just wonder about the logistics of it, is it such a great idea?
'But in general it's everything you need.'
On whether England will follow Germany's lead and make a stand after Fifa prevented the use of rainbow-coloured armbands, Mr Noyce said: 'I think they'll bide their time and pick the game they're going to do it.
Germany are playing Spain on Sunday, I think they'll wear the rainbow and if Germany do, I think England will follow.'
Craig Carter, 51, and Richard Copper, 49, were among a group of four friends originally from England, and now living in Adelaide in Australia, who have travelled to watch 18 games in 10 days.
They posed for a photo together outside the Al Bayt Stadium holding an England flag containing badges of their teams including Manchester United and Leeds United.
The group noted security had appeared to have tightened since they first arrived, with Mr Carter pointing at the flag and saying: 'They think this is a political statement.
'They couldn't understand why we had different badges on, we've got Leeds, Villa, Man U and West Ham.'
Mr Copper, originally from Birmingham, said: 'On the whole it's been brilliant.
'Despite a couple of buses, the way they've done the metro has been fantastic, the people are fantastic, we're staying on one of the cruise ships and that's brilliant, it's a mixed crowd on there, everybody is really friendly.'
The group said the restrictions on alcohol sales had not been an issue for them given their busy schedule, adding the tournament had been 'better without it' and no trouble seen.
Mr Copper said of England's chances on Friday against the USA: 'We're going to win.'