US Men’s National Team falls again, this time losing in the Round of 16
In the country of Qatar, The United States Men’s National Soccer Team participated in its first World Cup since 2014.
After an unacceptable loss to Trinidad and Tobago in the World Cup Qualifier in 2017, the United States made sweeping changes, including hiring a new head coach in Gregg Berhalter. The U.S. set out to work immediately afterward, and the team qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
A new, youthful group led by Christian Pulisic represented the stars and stripes in Qatar — a squad which, according to statista, was the second-youngest team to take part in this year’s World Cup (25.2 being the average age).
The United States embarked on its World Cup journey Nov. 21 against Wales. Tim Weah tallied a goal for the U.S. in the 36th minute off the assist from Pulisic, but a late Wales penalty made it 1-1. That is how the game came to an end.
The U.S. and their fans held their breath heading into the second group stage game against England. The U.S. held its own, fighting to a 0-0 draw and setting up a win-or-go-home final group stage match against Iran.
The U.S. played well in the first half, dominating possession over Iran. It was not until the 38th minute, however, that the U.S. finally broke through.
Pulisic, one of the few remnants of the 2017 failure, rose to the occasion. Sergino Dest fielded a beautiful cross from Weston McKinnie and headed it into the penalty box. Pulisic ran full-speed ahead into the box looking for the ball.
Pulsic one-touched the ball off his right foot into the back of the net. It was 1-0 U.S., but the goal was bittersweet. Pulisic laid in the goal after a collision with the goaltender, and he was removed from the game before the second half.
In desperation, Iran fought to bring the match back to a draw, with the best chance coming in the 99th minute. Off of a header, Iranian Mehdi Taremi slid and tapped the ball behind U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner.
The ball rolled slowly behind Turner into the 6-foot box. Walker Zimmerman, who came on during the second half, snuck in behind Turner to clear the ball away. That was all Iran had left, and the U.S. claimed victory 1-0.
The reward for finishing second in Group A was facing the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Despite controlling possession for 59% of the game, the U.S. fell behind early with a Memphis Depay goal in the 10th minute. Daley Blind would score in stoppage time in the first half to make it 2-0.
While Haji Wright would score in the 76th minute for the U.S., the Netherlands would strike again in the 81st minute with Denzel Dumphries scoring to make it 3-1. The deficit was too much for the U.S. to fight back from, bringing the match and America’s World Cup run to a close.
“When you play a (Netherlands) team with so much quality like that, and you give them three, four chances, they’re going to put three or four away,” midfielder Tyler Adams told media after the match. “We can show that we can hang with some of the best teams in the world, some of the best players in the world, and that’s a lot of progress for U.S. soccer.”
Despite the bitter end, the U.S.’s youth should give fans optimism for the years to come. Excitement can now build for the 2026 World Cup being held on home soil.
“We’re moving in the right direction for sure,” Adams said. “But we need to keep pushing, because we’re not there yet, but we’re close.”
Lipowski is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter