USMNT, Pulisic Answer the Bell to Secure Place in World Cup Knockout Stage

Facing a defining moment, the U.S. came through, with Christian Pulisic’s goal extending the Americans’ stay in Qatar.

It was grueling, it came at cost and it was a slog. But the U.S. men’s national team’s first job in Qatar is done. The Americans are headed to the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup, beating Iran, 1–0, in a must-win Group B finale to finish second behind England and set up a last-16 showdown vs. the Netherlands on Saturday.

The U.S. entered winless in five straight, dating back to a draw vs. Uruguay in a friendly in June (a Japan loss and Saudi Arabia draw followed in September, before draws against Wales and England at the World Cup). According to Opta, it hadn’t gone winless in six since a stretch in 1998–99. That stretch included a ’98 World Cup loss to Iran, which was part of a futile effort in France. Whatever measure of revenge this is for a group of players who largely weren’t even alive then can be debated. But what is not up for debate is the U.S.’s World Cup fate—it’s advancing to the knockout phase and is faced with yet another opportunity.

It was Christian Pulisic who was the hero, with his 38th-minute goal delivering the moment that tilted the scales in the U.S.’s favor. He was hurt on the goal and forced out at halftime (according to U.S. Soccer, he’s been taken to the hospital for scans on an abdominal injury), but his job was done—and the U.S.’s is as well. 

Here are three thoughts on the match:

McKennie and Adams celebrate Pulisic’s goal vs. Iran in the World Cup :: Ashley Landis/AP

First mission accomplished

The U.S. has met its first objective. Getting out of the group is always the baseline expectation for the U.S., no matter the performance. Overall throughout the group stage, the U.S. played extraordinarily well; this historically young side acquitted itself impressively and outplayed Wales and England for large stretches before Tuesday’s triumph. But success at a World Cup is often seen in black-and-white terms. It goes down in history as a pass-fail competition, no matter the nuance and complexity that goes into analyzing specific results. Failing to get out of the group would have been a defining stain on a team with so much potential. Instead, it has avoided that ignominy and has all to play for in the knockout stage after going through.

In doing so, the U.S. put to bed a history of horrid performances in third matches of the World Cup group stage. In program history, the U.S. had been 1-7-0 in such games, the only win coming on Landon Donovan’s iconic and dramatic goal against Algeria in 2010. Otherwise, it had been ugly from a results standpoint, even if that hasn’t always cost the U.S. a place in the last 16. In ’02, it fell 3–1 to Poland, but was saved by South Korea in the group’s other finale, for instance. But this time, the result came down to the U.S.’s outcome, and that alone, and the U.S. came through with a trend-busting win that extends its stay in Qatar.

World Cup 2022: Updated schedule and TV coverage.

Pulisic sacrifices and delivers again

For all of the young stars who have emerged in the U.S. program, Pulisic has remained the flagship one. He’s one of the few links back to the group that failed to qualify for 2018 (who can forget the image of him in tears on the field in Trinidad & Tobago, after defeat was secured?) and he’s long been looked at as the savior for the team, fair or otherwise.

His trajectory hasn’t always been smooth or direct, and anyone following his club career can attest to that. At this World Cup, he has come under criticism for his play in transition in Qatar, often trying to do too much on his own as the U.S. progresses the ball from one end to the next. But throughout his career he has emerged multiple times in the moments the U.S. needs him most. Think the extra-time penalty kick vs. Mexico in the Nations League final; the goal in the U.S.’s Dos-a-Cero revival against Mexico in World Cup qualifying just over a year ago; the hat trick against Panama in March in the match that effectively punched the U.S.’s ticket to Qatar. Even in the opener against Wales, he assisted on Tim Weah’s goal.

So in the biggest moment of them all, is it any surprise that Pulisic rose to the occasion? He absolutely paid the price for it, crashing the box hard to meet Sergiño Dest’s perfect cross from the right, colliding with goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand in the process. He stayed down for an extended period of time, receiving treatment while the U.S. played on, before coming back on for the rest of the first half. He ultimately couldn’t come out for the second, but the U.S. persevered in his absence. His contribution was paramount, and all will be monitoring his status closely before Saturday’s showdown vs. the Dutch.

Pulisic lunges beyond the Iranian defense to score against Iran :: Manu Fernandez/AP

The U.S. understood the assignment

From the opening whistle, this was a team on a mission. The U.S. knew it needed a win. It couldn’t afford to fall into a cagey, feeling-out period, which would have played directly into Iran’s hands. With Iran entering with no players on yellow cards, it could muck the game up all it wanted, with time-wasting no matter. Only needing a draw, Iran had no incentive to come out and attack aggressively. The onus was on the U.S. to do that, and that’s precisely what happened. In the first half, the U.S. outshot Iran 9–0. It attacked at will, with Dest and fellow fullback Antonee Robinson streaking forward repeatedly. In the U.S. midfield, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Yunus Musah were, again, sensational, and it was McKennie’s ball over the top that opened up Dest for the assist on Pulisic’s goal. It was also McKennie who played Weah through for a goal at the end of first-half stoppage time that wound up being chalked off for a tight offside. 

Credit, too, belongs to coach Gregg Berhalter. His choices and substitution patterns have caught some flack in Qatar, despite the U.S.’s relative success before Tuesday. He resisted playing Gio Reyna yet again, and he made the bold call to insert center back Cameron Carter-Vickers, who had a combined 0 minutes in his career in World Cup qualifying and World Cup games, into the starting lineup and this pressure cooker of a stage. He recalled Tim Ream for the World Cup despite his uneven play in the past with the U.S., and the 35-year-old was steady for three games in a row.

The U.S., from top to bottom, did what it needed to go through. And now, greater opportunity awaits.