Survive & Advance: USMNT Hangs On To Beat Iran 1-0, Reach Knockout Round Vs. Netherlands

 

    It was nervy and a bit sketchy at the end but all that matters is that the U.S. men's national team got the job done this afternoon in its Group B finale vs. Iran. The stakes were simple enough: win and they proceeded to the knockout round; lose and they catch the next flight out of Qatar. Thanks to a superb goal by star Christian Pulisic and the second straight shutout by goalkeeper Matt Turner, the Americans finished in second place in Group B with a 1-0 victory against Iran. They now will face the Netherlands on Saturday morning (10 am, FOX) in the Round of 16. England beat Wales 3-0 to finish in first place in Group B and they will meet Senegal on Sunday (2 pm, Fox). 

    With only two goals in its three games in Qatar, goal-scoring has clearly been a major issue facing the U.S. They played really well in the first half today though and were rewarded when midfielder Weston McKennie sent a long pass to defender Sergino Dest which he headed towards the goal line. Pulisic bravely went right at Iran's goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and volleyed the ball into the net just before he received a swift kick to a very sensitive area. After understandably staying down on the ground and being tended to by the USMNT medical staff, Pulisic briefly came off the field before going back on to end the half. He was replaced to start the second half and after a trip to the hospital, he said that he would be ready to go against the Dutch which is a huge relief given how serious it initally looked.

     Iran stepped up its play in the second half, particularly in the latter portion of the final stanza. US head coach Gregg Berhalter used all five of his substitutes and other than the mostly useless striker Haji Wright and midfielder Brenden Aaronson (who was a fine replacement for Pulisic), he focused on defenders with Shaq Moore (who shouldn't be on this team) coming on for Dest, Kellyn Acosta taking out McKennie and Walker Zimmerman subbing in for Timothy Weah (who had a stoppage time goal in the first half wiped away despite no VAR review of what looked like an incredibly close offside call). No Gio Reyna appearance for the second time in three matches, no Joe Scally (yet to see the field in Qatar) or no DeAndre Yedlin who I would have preferred vs. Moore.

    The Netherlands will represent a true step up in class for the U.S. but their 0-0 tie with England proves that they can hang with the better teams that are here. The Dutch won Group A after finishing 2-0-1 via a 2-0 win vs. Senegal, a 1-1 draw with Ecuador and a 2-0 shutout of Qatar to close it out earlier this morning. Their breakout star has been forward Cody Gakpo who has scored a goal in each game so far in the 2022 World Cup. It should be a good matchup since like the Americans, the Dutch have only allowed one goal in Qatar. Expect another low-scoring affair like today was and hopefully the U.S. attack can wake up a little bit more. For context, the last two times that the U.S. reached the knockout stage of a World Cup, they lost in the Round of 16: 1-0 to Belgium in 2014 and 2-1 to Ghana in 2010. Their last win at this point was that memorable 2-0 upset of Mexico way back in 2002.

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Eight Years Later, The U.S. Men's National Team Return To The World Cup With A 1-1 Tie Vs. Wales

 

    So much has changed since the last time that the U.S. men's national team was in its last World Cup (2014 in Brazil). This afternoon, an almost completely new squad (defender DeAndre Yedlin is the only holdover from that team) took the field in Qatar for their Group B opener vs. Wales. While this team is brimming with far more individual talent than the Americans have ever possessed, they still came away with a disappointing result: a 1-1 draw. Earlier in the day, England opened with a 6-2 thrashing of Iran which is what a heavyweight team like the English are expected to do. Of course, up next the Americans meet England on Black Friday (2, Fox) in a huge showdown that now takes on even more meaning since the U.S. settled for a point rather than earning the full three against the Welsh. Ugh.

    The U.S. played a nearly flawless first half and took a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute on a brilliant build-up play (more on that later) and a top-class finish by 22-year-old forward Timothy Weah. Rather than push for the all-important second goal in the second half, head coach Gregg Berhalter decided to sit on that perilous lead and ended up getting burned by Welsh legend Gareth Bale who drew a dumb foul in the box from defender Walker Zimmerman. The LA Galaxy star (that still sounds so weird to say) predictably converted the penalty kick in the 82nd minute and the Welsh grabbed a point in a match where the U.S. owned 59% possesion and had two more corner kicks (5-3) than Wales. 

    Did I mention that the U.S. finished with just one shot on goal? Yeah, that will not get it done at a major tournament. I think any objective American fan came into this cursed event in an awful and backwards country most scared of Berhalter screwing this whole thing up since he is their most glaring weakness besides inexperience of the players on this stage. Today was not a fireable offense but budding star midfielder Giovanni Reyna never seeing the field while forward Jordan Morris was a late substitute for Weah was a ridiculous decision. Turner did his part with a spectaular save to punch a dangerous Welsh header over the crossbar in the second half. He even got a hand on Bale's penalty kick but it was stuck way too hard to make a difference. 

   Starting with striker Josh Sargent's holdup then Pulisic's rush forward followed by a perfectly weighted pass to Weah who one-timed a finish before Wales' goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey could rush out to stop it, that U.S. goal was utterly gorgeous. Needless to say, past American teams never pulled off sequences like that against legitimate competition. Berhalter's starting 11 was about as good as it gets given the current roster: Turner in goal; Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Zimmerman and Sergino Dest in the back; Yunus Musah, newly-elected captain Tyler Adams (who was deservedly voted Man of the Match) and Weston McKennie in the midfield; Pulisic, Sargent and Weah up front. Other than the puzzling Morris move, Yedlin came on for Dest, Kellyn Acosta replaced Musah and Brenden Aaronson subbed in for McKennie. Besides Reyna, there really were not any other guys that never played against Wales that you could make much of a fuss about. 

    Berhalter should not panic and if I were him, I would roll with basically the same lineup vs. England. The U.S. has to be careful then since four guys (Ream, Dest, Acosta and McKennie) will carry yellow cards into that match with risk of missing the Iran Group B finale (should they pick up another yellow) which is likely to be very important for all four countries in the Group. England will be favored but the United States has shown in the past that they can play with the English. Goal differential is always something to pay attention to in this format so if they lose, it cannot be by more a goal or two. The U.S. led 1-0 at halftime against Wales and were up for 46 minutes late into the second half so hopefully this group takes some lessons from their first taste of the World Cup and puts it to good use when they meet one of the best teams on the planet.

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