National Hero: 3 thoughts on USMNT's 1-0 win over Iran to advance to the Round of 16
Christian Pulisic sacrificed for his lone goal, and Matt Turner and the U.S. defense made it all stand up for a 1-0 win over Iran that sent the United States through to the Round of 16
KNOCKOUT ROUNDS — Hear that?
That’s the sound of collective jubilation around the United States of America, a growing soccer country with fans gathering Tuesday to see if the U.S. men’s national team could secure the three points it needed to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup in Qatar with a win over the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It was an agonizing 90 minutes, made more painful by a painful (no, really!) goal by Christian Pulisic in the 38th minute and nine minutes (no, really!!!) of stoppage time.
But guess what?
The States are through.
Pulisic’s agonizing strike before halftime stood up thanks to a heroic performance by goalkeeper Matt Turner and the U.S. defense, and the United States advanced to the Knockout Stages four years after suffering unrelenting agony with a failure to qualify for the previous World Cup.
Take a collective breath, America.
Here are three thoughts on the U.S. win, Pulisic’s goal, and an the unnerving will to win that is still the United States’ futbol calling card.
Careful, he’s a hero
The United States entered Tuesday’s match needing a win, or it would be heading home early from Qatar. All Iran needed was a draw, and the two sides played out accordingly early with the U.S. on the front foot.
The States out-shot Iran, 4-0 with two shots on goal in the early moments, dominating around 60% of possession. But the Yanks had nothing to show for it, either. That was a win for Iran.
That is, until Pulisic crashed the box to finish off a headed cross from Sergiño Dest and converted the crucial goal before collapsing in a cringe-inducing heap following a collision with the goalkeeper.
“Obviously, we’re very thankful that he threw his body there,” U.S. midfielder Weston McKinney said of the Chelsea attacker. “But the thing is, we have 25 other guys outside of Christian that would do the same thing, I believe.
”We know what our goal is. We know what we want to accomplish … Unfortunate that he had to come out, but that should tell you enough about what this team means to him and what he means to us.”
Pulisic was down for considerable time, gingerly made his way off the pitch, returned briefly but visibly grimaced several times through the remainder of the half. He was clearly in pain, and U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter officially subbed him out for Brenden Aaronson at halftime after an early diagnosis of an abdominal injury.
“No update on his status,” Berhalter told FOX Sports after the match. “But I’ve been saying all along, it’s a wonderful thing when one of your best players is also your hardest working.
“I can’t say enough about Christian.”
Pulisic was pulled from the stadium before the end of the match and checked into a local hospital, FOX Sports reported. Gutsy.
“He’s huge,” U.S. winger Tim Weah said of the Hershey, Penn. native. “Going back to him not qualifying for the last World Cup, and being here and qualifying us through, that’s just a work of God. God bless him; he’s so important to this team. He’s a leader, and somebody that we really need.”
Thank the defense
But the lead doesn’t stand up without the defense, including Arsenal backup goalkeeper Matt Turner in corralling a defense that turned aside four shots while Iran frantically searched for an equalizer that would’ve sent them through with Group B winners England.
Instead, the Iranians and Wales were eliminated from the group, and the Yanks are moving on to Saturday’s Round of 16 match against the Netherlands (9 a.m. ET, FOX).
The United States out-shot Iran 12-4, including 5-1 shots on goal with three blocked shots. No save was bigger than Haji Wright tracking back to turn aside a look from Iran’s Mehdi Taremi in the eighth minute of stoppage time to keep the shutout, too.
It’s the first time the United States has claimed a pair of shutouts in a World Cup group stage, going back to the 0-0 draw with England. In all, the Yanks have conceded just one goal, that one coming from Wales off the foot of Gareth Bale via penalty kick.
Berhalter gambled, changing up his center-back rotation to bring in Cameron Carter-Vickers in place of previous starter Walker Zimmerman. The U.S. struggled on set pieces absent Zimmerman, but the Celtic center back cleaned up more balls in open space and was critical to limiting the Iranian attack.
This is soccer
It wasn’t always pretty, and at times, it involved some bunkering and looking for a counter-attacking opportunity. But it was effective in snapping a five-match winless skid across all competitions to earn the $9 million payout for qualifying for the Knockout Rounds.
This is soccer under Berhalter, sometimes criticized but mostly effective. The youngest averaging Starting IX in the tournament is coachable and likeable, and deserves significant praise for bringing the federation back from a complete disaster leading up to the 2018 World Cup.
Berhalter’s task when he was hired out of Major League Soccer involved developing a consistent identity and players who fit the United States’ mold moving forward. But above anything else, his priority was to get results.
At times, he’s done both. On Tuesday, he mostly proved the latter — with a little bit of European-bred magic from Pulisic, and a lot of old-fashioned American grit, as well.
“I think in the first half, we showed what we can do, soccer-wise,” Berhalter said. “In the second half, we showed what we can do, determination-wise.”
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