The humiliating stalemate in Cape Town means Fabio Capello's men will likely need to beat Group C leaders Slovenia in the final group game.
Though they are level on two points with United States, the Americans are currently above the Three Lions on goals scored after their 2-2 draw with the Slovenians.
The build-up to Wednesday's crucial encounter has hardly been ideal with ex-captain John Terry suggesting in a press conference that Capello needs to change his tactics.
Terry spoke publicly of a team meeting being held to clear the air between the players and the backroom staff and he effectively called for the introduction of Joe Cole into the midfield.
Needless to say, Capello was not impressed with the comments from Terry, denying a clear the air meeting took place and referring to the fact that the Chelsea man spoke publicly as a "big mistake".
At least Capello can console himself with the fact that he has not had to deal with a full-scale mutiny, like French coach Raymond Domenech has.
Despite leading Les Bleus to the World Cup Final four years ago, Domenech has rarely impressed during his reign and he has already confirmed he will leave the national team after the tournament.
In the latest disappointing episode, France suffered a poor 2-0 defeat to Mexico on Thursday to leave their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.
But it is the news that striker Nicolas Anelka has been sent home early for insulting Domenech at half time which has really rocked the camp.
The French squad came out in support of Anelka and refused to train on Sunday while captain Patrice Evra had a heated argument with a fitness coach - all caught on camera.
A French Federation chief has resigned and the press are less than impressed with The Parisien stating, "To have the worst soccer team at the World Cup was already unbearable. To also have the most stupid is intolerable."
On the field, France must beat hosts South Africa and hope to turn around a four-goal deficit to Mexico or a five-goal deficit to Group A leaders Uruguay.
A draw between Mexico and Uruguay will make irrelevant any result in the France-South Africa fixture.
South Africa are in a similar predicament to France but with an even worse goal difference again after they suffered a major hit in a bad 3-0 loss to Uruguay in Pretoria.
Group B continues to be dominated by Argentina who beat South Korea 4-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Gonzalo Higuain.
Two early goals looked to have sent La Albiceleste to a comfortable win before a defensive rick allowed the Koreans to pull a goal back on the stroke of half time.
But Higuain found plenty of time and space to slot in two second half goals meaning Diego Maradona's men require just one more point to progress to the Second Round as group winners.
South Korea's loss means the runners-up spot is less clear-cut, though the Asians remain favourites to qualify with Argentina.
Nevertheless, the South Koreans remain vulnerable to a two-goal victory for Nigeria which will mean the Africans go through if Greece also fail to beat Argentina.
The Greeks earned their first-ever World Cup win by coming from behind to beat Nigeria 2-1 after the Super Eagles lost control of the game when Sani Kaita was sent off.
But a final group fixture against Argentina means that the odds are against Greece extending their World Cup adventure any further.
In Group D, Serbia produced a major shock to beat ten-man Germany who missed a penalty had Miroslav Klose sent off after half an hour.
Milan Jovanovic scored the only goal of the game shortly afterwards but, despite a numerical deficit, the Germans pushed hard for an equaliser in the second period.
A golden chance duly arrived but Lukas Podolski, who missed numerous other chances, saw his soft penalty easily saved. It was Germany's first penalty miss in the World Cup outside of a shoot-out since 1974.
In the other match, Ghana went top of the group with a point against Australia who bounced back from their 4-0 mauling by Germany in this 1-1 draw.
The Socceroos took an early lead but when Harry Kewell's hand ball on the line prevented a goal, the men from Down Under were down to ten men for a second match in a row.
Asamoah Gyan converted his second penalty of the tournament but with the Ghanaians facing Germany last, the Africans could have done with a win.
It is much more clear-cut in Group E with Netherlands becoming the first team to qualify for the Second Round after their 1-0 win over Japan, Sneijder scoring a beautiful winner.
Cameroon were the first team to be knocked out despite taking the lead in an open and entertaining encounter with Denmark.
Neither defence looked particularly strong in the first half but the Indomitable Lions failed to build on a gift of an early goal for Samuel Eto'o and the Danes hit back.
Dennis Rommedahl scored the winner, and made the other goal, in a 2-1 win which still leaves Morten Olsen's men needing to beat Japan in the final group game to go through.
A draw is enough for the Japanese to join the Dutch in the last 16 thanks to their superior goal difference. Netherlands are expected to top the group, requiring just a point against Cameroon to do so.
Meanwhile, New Zealand pulled off the most extraordinary result in their football history by holding defending champions Italy to a 1-1 draw in Group F on Sunday.
Shane Smeltz gave the All Whites an early lead but Italy were level on 29 minutes when Vincenzo Iaquinta converted a penalty after a shirt pull on Daniele de Rossi.
But the Kiwis held firm and a second half onslaught from the Azzurri never really materialised.
In fact, West Brom's Chris Wood went close to making this an incredible victory but he rolled his shot just past the post.
Earlier, Paraguay had taken control of the group with a comfortable 2-0 win over Slovakia who have not had the best of times in their debut World Cup finals appearance.
In the final matches, Paraguay are expected to seal top spot against New Zealand with Italy still likely to qualify with a result against Slovakia despite taking just two points so far.
Portugal have seemingly killed off the challenge of Ivory Coast with a 7-0 mauling of North Korea in Group G after a silky second half display.
After a tight first half which ended just 1-0 to Portugal, the North Korean defence collapsed in the second period as three quick goals gave the Portuguese a handsome lead.
They further improved their goal difference with three late goals, including a first at this World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo who lashed home a right-foot strike after inadvertently juggling the ball on his neck.
Portugal now enjoy a healthy goal difference of +7, nine goals better than that of their rivals Ivory Coast who lost 3-1 to Brazil in what ended up as an ill-tempered match.
Luis Fabiano scored twice and Elano once as Brazil sealed their place in the Second Round with a 3-0 lead just past the hour mark.
Didier Drogba headed a consolation before the game turned nasty with the Ivorians not slow to pull out of challenges and Brazil players making the most of any fouls.
It was surprising then that a Brazilian was shown red when Kaka was sent off after an innocuous challenge.
But he was the victim of some terrible play acting by Abdelkader Keita and the incident left a sour taste on what had been a decent victory for the six-time winners.
Group H remains the most intriguing of all the groups after Switzerland's shock win over Spain in the first set of matches and just five goals in the four games so far.
Chile beat the Swiss 1-0 to go top of the group but they could yet be unlucky and finish on six points but still miss out.
La Roja face Spain in their final group game, with the Euro 2008 champions having got themselves back into the tournament with a 2-0 win over Honduras.
The Spanish missed a hatful of chances for a greater margin of victory but David Villa scored twice to mean that any win against Chile would be enough for Spain to qualify.
Switzerland could also yet make it ahead of Chile by improving their goal difference with a few goals against Honduras. The Hondurans have just the slimmest chance themselves, needing to beat the Swiss well and hope Chile beat Spain.
WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE
After two matches
GROUP A
11/06 South Africa 1-1 Mexico
11/06 Uruguay 0-0 France
16/06 South Africa 0-3 Uruguay
17/06 Mexico 2-0 France
22/06 Mexico v Uruguay
22/06 France v South Africa
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| URUGUAY | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| MEXICO | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| FRANCE | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
GROUP B
12/06 South Korea 2-0 Greece
12/06 Argentina 1-0 Nigeria
17/06 Argentina 4-1 South Korea
17/06 Greece 2-1 Nigeria
22/06 Nigeria v South Korea
22/06 Greece v Argentina
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| ARGENTINA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| SOUTH KOREA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| NIGERIA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| GREECE | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
GROUP C
12/06 England 1-1 United States
13/06 Algeria 0-1 Slovenia
18/06 Slovenia 2-2 United States
18/06 England 0-0 Algeria
23/06 Slovenia v England
23/06 United States v Algeria
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| SLOVENIA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| UNITED STATES | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| ENGLAND | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| ALGERIA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
GROUP D
13/06 Serbia 0-1 Ghana
13/06 Germany 4-0 Australia
18/06 Germany 0-1 Serbia
19/06 Ghana 1-1 Australia
23/06 Ghana v Germany
23/06 Australia v Serbia
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| GHANA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| GERMANY | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| SERBIA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| AUSTRALIA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
GROUP E
Netherlands progress to the Second Round
14/06 Netherlands 2-0 Denmark
14/06 Japan 1-0 Cameroon
19/06 Netherlands 1-0 Japan
19/06 Cameroon 1-2 Denmark
24/06 Denmark v Japan
24/06 Cameroon v Netherlands
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| NETHERLANDS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| JAPAN | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| DENMARK | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| CAMEROON | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
GROUP F
14/06 Italy 1-1 Paraguay
15/06 New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia
20/06 Slovakia 0-2 Paraguay
20/06 Italy 1-1 New Zealand
24/06 Slovakia v Italy
24/06 Paraguay v New Zealand
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| PARAGUAY | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| ITALY | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| NEW ZEALAND | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| SLOVAKIA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
GROUP G
Brazil progress to the Second Round
15/06 Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal
15/06 Brazil 2-1 North Korea
20/06 Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast
21/06 Portugal 7-0 North Korea
25/06 Portugal v Brazil
25/06 North Korea v Ivory Coast
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| BRAZIL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| PORTUGAL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| IVORY COAST | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| NORTH KOREA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
GROUP H
16/06 Honduras 0-1 Chile
16/06 Spain 0-1 Switzerland
21/06 Chile 1-0 Switzerland
21/06 Spain 2-0 Honduras
25/06 Chile v Spain
25/06 Switzerland v Honduras
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| CHILE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| SPAIN | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| SWITZERLAND | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| HONDURAS | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
SCORERS
3 Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
2 Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Luis Fabiano (Brazil), Elano (Brazil), Tiago (Portugal), David Villa (Spain)
1 Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa), Rafael Marquez (Mexico), Lee Jung-Soo (South Korea), Park Ji-Sung (South Korea), Gabriel Heinze (Argentina), Steven Gerrard (England), Clint Dempsey (USA), Robert Koren (Slovenia), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Thomas Mueller (Germany), Cacau (Germany), Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Antolin Alcaraz (Paraguay), Daniele de Rossi (Italy), Robert Vittek (Slovakia), Winston Reid (New Zealand), Maicon (Brazil), Ji Yun-Nam (North Korea), Jean Beausejour (Chile), Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland), Alvaro Pereira (Uruguay), Lee Chung-Yong (South Korea), Kalu Uche (Nigeria), Dimitris Salpingidis (Greece), Vasileios Torosidis (Greece), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Mexico), Milan Jovanovic (Serbia), Valter Birsa (Slovenia), Zlatan Ljubijankic (Slovenia), Landon Donovan (USA), Michael Bradley (USA), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Brett Holman (Australia), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark), Dennis Rommedahl (Denmark), Enrique Vera (Paraguay), Crisitian Riveros (Paraguay), Shane Smeltz (New Zealand), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Italy), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Raul Meireles (Portugal), Simao (Portugal), Hugo Almeida (Portugal), Liedson (Portugal), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Mark Gonzalez (Chile)
2 own goals Daniel Agger (Denmark) for Netherlands, Park Chu-Young (South Korea) for Argentina
RED CARDS
Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay) v France
Abdelkader Ghezzal (Algeria) v Slovenia
Aleksandar Lukovic (Serbia) v Ghana
Tim Cahill (Australia) v Germany
Itumeleng Khune (South Africa) v Uruguay
Sani Kaita (Nigeria) v Greece
Miroslav Klose (Germany) v Serbia
Harry Kewell (Australia) v Ghana
Kaka (Brazil) v Ivory Coast
Valon Behrami (Switzerland) v Chile
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