When Ghana, the youngest team at the World Cup, eventually meets the USMNT, the second-youngest, in the World Cup semifinals, it's clear that the juvenile inconsistencies of both will allow one team to shine in the opening 45 before the other side comes storming back in the second half.
The task is clear for the United States men's national team when it plays Iran in its final Group B game of the World Cup at Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday: Win or go home.
While many teams still have multiple options in order to advance to the knockout phase of the tournament, including Iran, the Americans have no choice but to get the three points that come with a victory.
Since the draw for the 2022 World Cup occurred in April, the Black Friday USA matchup against England had been circled on the calendar for both sides. With so much history both off the field and on, we arrived at the next chapter thirsty for a fantastic show.
The last time USA and England met in a World Cup, the match ended as a 1-1 draw in 2010 after Clint Dempsey fired home a shot that bounced off Robert Green's hands and rolled behind him into the net.
According to Iran media, the Iranian soccer federation is filing a complaint to FIFA after the United States men’s national team posted a picture that included an altered imagine of Iran’s flag.
On Friday the USMNT twitter account tweeted a photo of the Group B standings with one noticeable detail missing. In a show of solidarity with the protests taking place in Iran, the symbol of the Islamic Republic was removed from Iran’s flag.
DOHA - The United States shut out a European side at the World Cup for the first time since 1950 but left the tent-like Al Bayt Stadium without a win after Friday's tense goalless stalemate against England, a contest where they were superior for long periods.
England had crushed Iran 6-2 in their Group B opener to justify their status as one of the tournament favorites, but they were fortunate to come away with a point against Gregg Berhalter's young and energetic team.
The United States men’s national team defied the doubters and earned a tough 0-0 draw against England on Friday. In all honesty the USA had the better chances in the game and some fans will have wished to get a win vs. the Three Lions.
The first big chance came to England in the opening 10 minutes with Walker Zimmerman having a crucial block against Harry Kane.
Massive stop by Zimmerman pic.twitter.com/Sbsh4qrnJT
The USMNT "won" another famous World Cup draw with England on Friday, battling to a 0-0 stalemate in a gripping affair in which the U.S. outshot the Three Lions 10 to eight, earned seven corners and, without a doubt, inspired its country back home.
Before the tournament started, if U.S. supporters were offered the eventual outcome of only needing to beat Iran to advance to the last-16 they'd have taken that agreement in a heartbeat. Well, that's the scenario the U.S. faces on Tuesday after Iran beat Wales 2-0 earlier in the day.
Alexi Lalas is a polarizing character in the U.S. Soccer sphere. Beloved as player but not so much as a pundit, Lalas can rub people the wrong way. Despite this, the Alexi Lalas England pregame speech on FOX before kickoff could make his most vehement haters feel something.
The USA is about to play arguably its biggest men’s soccer game in recent history. This could be a defining moment for the program and Lalas emphasized this before kickoff.
Estados Unidos soñaba con un empate en este partido. Sin embargo, luego de un gol anulado y dos tiros en los postes en una misma jugada, Irán finalmente encontró premio a su insistencia y derrotó a Gales con dos estocadas in extremis, ¡al minuto 98 y al 101!
El Team Melli mostró una cara mucho más colorida que la fantasmal imagen que dejó en la derrota 6-2 ante Inglaterra, en su debut en el Grupo B de Catar, del que también forma parte el Team USA.
All four Concacaf teams competing at the World Cup have played their first games with all four failing to win. In this article we will grade the Concacaf teams at the World Cup based on their game results, how they looked and their likelihood of advancing to the knockout stages.
First let’s recap the results.
Time for the grades.