Nick Ames’ match report is now in, so I’ll shut things down here. A disciplined, mature performance from the young American team sets up a clash with the Netherlands on Saturday. We’ll see you then.
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Alex Greenberg didn’t think much of Gregg Berhalter’s leadership in that game:
“Berhalter needs to sub earlier and more,” he writes. “You’ve got players dead on their feet and he’s holding back his substitutions. It was a miracle we pulled that off.”
Kurt Perleberg has other views: “This was the greatest soccer game I ever saw.”
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Weston McKennie speaks to Fox Sports:
“We’re a really close group of guys. We love the pressure. We have our own swagger, our own style,” he says.
Asked about Pulisic he says: “We’re very thankful that he put his body there. But we have 25 other guys who would do the same thing.”
The US will play Netherlands in the next round. England advance as group winners after their victory over Wales, and will play Senegal.
US coach Gregg Berhalter is interviewed on Fox Sports. He is asked how he feels about his young team.
“Proud. The first half we showed what we could do soccer wise. The second half we showed what we could do determination wise.”
He is asked about Christian Pulisic’s injury, which he sustained as he scored the game’s only goal. He says there is “no update”. He adds: “I can’t say enough [good things] about Christian.”
Iran look devastated. It must have been an incredibly draining tournament for them as they contended with the Qatari heat and the pressure of events off the pitch as turmoil in their home country continues.
The US have now reached the last 16 in their last three World Cup appearances. Christian Pulisic was devastated when the Americans missed out on Russia 2018 and it was Pulisic who put his body (and possibly his testicles) on the line as he scored the winner.
Full-time: Iran 0-1 USA
The US have done it! They are through to the last 16. It was an incredibly tense finish as Iran had that penalty shout but the US were deserved winner. They had the lion’s share of the chances and possession and Turner didn’t have to make a save worth its name in the 90 (plus) minutes.
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90 min+9: Wright has a brilliant chance. He should probably have run the ball into the corner but shoots. And it’s a terrible one.
VAR REVIEW! Did Carter-Vickers foul Taremi as he bore down on goal?!! No! Play on.
90 min+7: Another throw for the US, who are running down the clock well/giving themselves no time to come back after Iran’s miraculous equaliser.
90 min+6: Jalali is booked as he pulls down Musah, who is looking to break. Cameron-Vickers takes a looooong time with the free-kick. Understandably.
90 min+5: Ghoddos whizzes down the left but dribbles the ball out to give the US another breather.
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90 min+4: Play slows down for the US as they win a throw.
90 min+3: Free-kick to Iran to the left of the area. It’s a wicked, whipped ball and Pouraliganji’s diving header whisks just wide of Turner’s near post.
90 min +2: Iran play the ball around patiently given that they need to score very soon. ZImmerman heads a cross clear. Just about.
90 min: Musah loses the ball after he stumbles but Iran’s attack breaks down (no) thanks to a poorly placed ball.
89 min: Iran win their first corner, a minute short of the regulation 90. It was not worth waiting for. The US clear. “Is it just me or do you hear a beeping sound? It must the the US bus reversing into its parking spot in the 18-yard box,” says Peter Oh.
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88 min: Nine minutes of added time. This is going to be tense.
87 min: Iran try a patient build-up before a pretty poor through-ball is hit too far and ambles into Matt Turner’s loving arms. Then the US have a chance at the other end but Iran scramble clear.
85 min: The next 10 minutes or so, will be a wave of Iran attacks. Not great for the nerves of either set of fans.
83 min: Iran shout for a penalty as the ball rolls up Moore’s body after that free-kick. It’s not given. The US have five at the back now.
If you’re joining us from the US and want to get daily updates on the World Cup in your inbox every morning then might we interest you in First Thing? It covers all the US and global news you need to know each day, as well as a round-up of the latest updates from Qatar 2022, written by me.
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82 min: Weah clips Jalali and Iran have a set-piece around 45-yards from the US goal. Zimmerman and Moore are on for Dest and Weah. The US are looking to preserve their lead rather than search for a killer second goal.
80 min: Ansarifard is on for Gholizadeh. Iran shout for a free-kick as Carter-Vickers muscles out the busy Ghoddos but the ref waves play on.
78 min: Hosseini is booked for a foul on Aaronson. And Wright comes on for Sargent, who played well this evening.
76 min: USA are down to 10 men as Sargent continues to be treated off the pitch.
75 min: Sargent is being treated after landing heavily – looks like he may have tweaked his knee. One of his knees – he has two.
73 min: The game has slowed a little as it nears its end. A little strange seeing as Iran need to score.
71 min: Torabi comes on for Noorollahi.
69 min: A handball from Iran sets up a free-kick for the US around 25 yards out in the centre of the pitch. Acosta and Musah debate who will take it. It’s the birthday boy who gets the opportunity, but Musah sends the ball over. “A couple of these young American players (McKennie, Weah) look faster on the ball than most of their opponents off it. Some impressive fleetness,” says Alex Whitney.
66 min: Ghoddos has had two good looks at goal this half and has failed to hit the target twice. This time he finds himself free-ish in the area and curls the ball past the far post. Acosta is on for the US in place of McKennie.
64 min: Rezaeian goes down hard and cries out in pain, loudly enough to be heard above the Iranian fans (although maybe he just landed near a microphone). He’s fine to continue though.
62 min: Iran’s fans continue to make it sound like they’re the home team. Rezaeian has plenty of time to pick out his man on a cross from the right but Ream clears well.
“A definite candidate for the daily pedant award, but Tyler Adams’ name technically covers three US presidents, not two, as both John Adams and John Quincy Adams were presidents,” writes Matt Guthrie. No wonder the guys is such a good leader.
59 min: Taremi strays an inch or four offside. They’re looking distinctly zingy in the last few minutes.
57 min: Two corners in succession for the US. Neither achieve much.
Elsewhere, England have scored twice against Wales and are 2-0 up. They will almost certainly go through as group winners. You can follow the match here:
55 min: Sargent, whose build-up play has been excellent today, releases Dest who bumbles into some Iranian defenders. That leaves the US exposed at the back and Cameron-Vickers does well to escort Taremi away from danger as he bursts into the box. It’s an open game as Iran go after the goal they need and the US look to kill the contest off.
52 min: Ghoddos, on as a sub, gets ahead of Dest and heads over the bar. Iran’s best (and only) real chance of the game. The ref and Gregg Berhalter are arguing about something. “I’m pretty sure no US president has fathered a top football (spherical version) player but Tyler Adams’ name covers two former commanders-in-chief,” says Peter Oh.
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50 min: The US clearly want to get a second and save themselves from being vulnerable to a sucker punch from Iran. Pulisic’s injury is an abdominal one, according to Fox Sports. Not sure if that’s code for a knock to the unmentionables.
48 min: Sargent cuts in and unleashes a left-foot shot but Beiranvand blocks. The ball trickles away from the keeper but he smothers it before any Americans can pounce.
46 min: Pulisic is off after that heavy collision when he scored – we’re not sure of the exact diagnosis yet. Brenden Aaronson comes on as his replacement.
Here’s Kári Tulinius: “I have a cockamamie theory that the USMNT is always the team that most fits the vibes of each World Cup. ‘90 they went to Italy expecting to have fun, and didn’t. In ‘94 they had joy until Brazil rearranged their faces. ‘98, went to France expecting great things, but only France got great things. ‘02, when outsiders had good tournaments, they had their best since ‘30. ‘06, they drew with Italy but somehow lost. ‘10 they opened up new markets for football fandom. ‘14 they were a hot mess that somehow got to the second round. Let’s skip over Russia ‘18, but in retrospect maybe Fifa should’ve skipped over Russia in 2018. And in ‘22 they’re all midfield and no striker.”
The US have won their last eight matches in which Christian Pulisic has scored. Brendan May wants his fellow Brenda(e)n to get involved. “Think we need to go with Aaronson early for McKennie, perhaps even at the half. US waited too long against Wales,” he writes.
That was an excellent half for the US: they completely dominated Iran who, from the first minute, looked to be playing for the draw that will almost certainly put them through. The one criticism for the Americans would be the lack of a final ball after creating so much pressure from the wings. It’s worth bearing in mind that the US did this against Wales in the first-half too before fading badly.
Iran’s World Cup is far from over too: they only need one chance – which will surely come – to get back in this and go through.
“Timothy Weah’s appearance has me wondering which other international footballers have also been the sons of sitting heads of state,” writes Isaac Abraham. “The only other one I can think of is Al-Saadi Gaddafi!”
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Half-time Iran 0-1 USA
And that’s it for a dominant half for the US. Weah has the ball in the net but he’s just offside. A lovely finish from Weah though. At the moment, USA are going through as group runners up and will face the Netherlands. A long way to go though.
Joshua Reynolds may have diagnosed the true reason for Pulisic’s suffering: “I am in awe that he can go on after full speed kick in the balls.”
45 min +4: Dest breaks down the right but he overhits his pass to Weah. Goal-kick to Iran.
45 min+2: Mohammadi is down injured for Iran. Karimi trots on as his replacement.
45 min: A brilliant pass from Adams releases Sargent, who taps it to Weah on the edge of the area. Weah tries to return the compliment but his pass is a little off and Iran intercept. A surprisingly modest five minutes have been added on to the half.
44 min: Pulisic is back on. I wouldn’t be surprised if he struggles on until half-time and is reassessed then. If he’s concussed he should, obviously, be nowhere near the pitch.
43 min: Chance for Sargent who fires across the face of goal. The US clearly want to give their biggest star time to recover but for now they continue a man down. That extra man benefits Iran, and Adams concedes a foul – and yellow – as the Iranians break on the counter.
41 min: Pulisic is up on his feet but looks shaky. I’m not sure if he’ll be able to continue. For now, the US play with 10 men.
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GOAL! Iran 0-1 USA (Pulisic 38 min)
Well, that makes up for his terrible corners. Dest nods across the area and Pulisic taps home. It’s a brave effort as Beiranvand comes out to clear. The keeper’s knee smacks into Pulisic and he’s still being treated. A crucial strike but Pulisic looks like he has been badly hurt.
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38 min: The US win their second corner. Pulisic trots over to the flag and passes it short to an incoming teammate, but it’s underhit and Iran clear. Nice idea, shame about the execution.
35 min: The US have already had more shots in this game than they had in the entire match with Wales. And none of them have seriously threatened Beiranvand.
33 min: Noorollahi is OK to continue. Weah gets under a shot and blasts over. “The reason Iran should win or draw, humanly speaking, is that its players will desperately need the protection of hero status when they fly back to Tehran,” emails Johan Bavinck. “Whereas the US players will be fine in all cases.”
31 min: Dest dances along the edge of the area and falls as he shoots and it’s cleared by Iran. Ream then gives away a throw-in close to the US goal. Berhalter is claiming that Iran are already time wasting, which means we’ll have just the 28 minutes of added time. Noorollahi is down injured in the US area and is being treated. Make that 29 minutes of added time.
29 min: Sargent turns and shoots, and the ball deflects off a defender’s leg and spins up into the night sky. It finds Weah around eight yards out but he can’t get enough power on the header and Beiranvand gathers it comfortably.
26 min: US corner, won by Robinson. Pulisic to take … and he places it beautifully on the forehead of the Iran defender on the near post.
23 min: It’s England 0-0 Wales in the other match, so at the moment England and Iran are going through. The US once again cut in from wide. And once again, the final ball is missing.
21 min: Chance for Iran! Taremi and Azmoun are free in the US area. And as Taremi knocks the ball to his teammate in plenty of space, Tim Ream puts in a crucial interception. Very nearly 1-0 to Iran.
19 min: This has similarities to the Wales and England games as the US threaten plenty in the build-up but without anyone to apply the finishing touch.
16 min: Robinson gets into space again and sends in a cross that is just behind Weah. Then Dest sends in a cross from the other side, which Beiranvand dives out to punch clear. US are threatening from the wings here.
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13 min: Robinson has been getting plenty of joy down the left while Carter-Vickers is getting up in support too. Pulisic’s terrible touch – his second of the game – gives possession away to Iran, who knock it back and forth nicely while note really doing too much attacking.
An email from Paul Griffin: “HUGE game today: Iran v USA,” he writes, winding up for the punchline. “A nation steeped in religiosity, abundant in mineral resources, with a fanatical hatred of its opponent, versus Iran.”
10 min: Unconfirmed reports a US fan was thrown out of the game for wearing a rainbow armband.
An American fan wearing a rainbow armband appeared to be escorted out of the stadium before Iran vs. USA pic.twitter.com/hDhUJKiSJ2
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 29, 2022
9 min: Tyler Adams’ shot is so bad that in ends up being a decent cross-field pass to Robinson, whose cross is dealt with by Iran. Adams then races back to stifle an Iranian counterattack. His reputation has been bolstered in this tournament, and looks like he will lead his country for years to come. Musah has the clearest chance of the game so far for the US when he lashes a shot over the bar from just outside the area.
6 min: Birthday boy Yunus Musah (Happy 20th!), who has been excellent this tournament, wins a throw in after some good work down the right but Iran clear the danger. The US have had the better of the play so far. Or they did, as Iran enjoy some good pressure in the US area. The Americans looked a little nervy defending there – they know they’re the ones who have to win this one.
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3 min: An early set-piece for Iran around 40 yards from goal, but the US clear thanks to the head of captain Tyler Adams. Pulisic then scampers forward but is tackled by Hosseini as he bears down on the penalty area.
1 min: And we’re off. The Americans in blue and Iran in white.
USA go through if they win. Iran will also progress if they win, and a draw could also be good enough, depending on how the Wales v England game goes. You can follow that one here:
Meanwhile, Brendan May asked and now he regrets. “I wanted Cameron Carter-Vickers, but now I’m nervous about messing with chemistry,” he writes.
The teams are out on the pitch and Iran sing their national anthem first, some more enthusiastically than others. There are also whistles and jeers in the stadium, presumably from Iranian fans giving their thoughts on their country’s regime.
The US then belt our theirs, just without the whooshy jet flyover you get at NFL games. Which is understandable in someone else’s airspace.
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The atmosphere in and around many of the stadiums at the Qatar World Cup has been oddly flat. That’s not the case tonight. It was clear outside the Al Thumama Stadium more than three hours before kickoff that US supporters would be vastly outnumbered and it’s even clearer now inside the 44,400-seat venue, where Iran have just emerged from the tunnel for their warm-ups to deafening roars and an ear-splitting cacophony of vuvuzelas and drums straight out of South Africa 2010.
Feels like it! pic.twitter.com/RM9fK4r0BO
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) November 29, 2022
The United States were always going to face an uphill climb tonight – needing three points against Asia’s highest ranked team in their own region to keep their tournament alive – but the hostile atmosphere is guaranteed to make it that much tougher.
Fox Sports joins the long list of people/organizations who have not listened properly to the lyrics of the Bruce Springsteen classic as they belt out Born In The USA in the lead-up to the match.
Peter Oh emails in about the Gio Reyna selection controversy. “Never mind the geopolitics. More likely to make-or-break the US’s chances tonight are the Gio-politics,” he chortles.
Prediction time: I put USA’s chances of advancing at around 38% (weirdly I just checked Predicto-fest FiveThirtyEight and they have exactly the same odds). Their midfielders have been excellent so far this tournament and are a great sign for the future, but that lack of cutting edge is a nagging worry. And I suspect the true Iran are the team that beat Wales rather than the one who were thumped by England. I think that 6-2 opening loss had to be influenced by their brave decision not to sing the national anthem. The possibility of personal repercussions probably don’t help you concentrate on a crucial World Cup match.
The Iranian fans are very loud in the stadium tonight, armed with World Cup 2010 co-star Mr A Vuvuzela. They were also in fine voice against Wales as the team scored a crucial victory amid protests back home:
The only other World Cup game between these two sides was at France ‘98, amid ongoing political tension between Washington and Tehran.
In his Guardian match report from Lyon, Richard Williams described the opening minutes of the group game as being filled with the “fierce noise of the Iranian crowd” and a “blizzard of high speed attacks” by the US.
It was Iran who took the lead through Estili, and the celebrations after his header “shook the foundations of Stade de Gerland, if not the Islamic Republic,” said Williams.
A second Iran goal followed from Mahdavikia, before the US forward McBride scored a consolation goal, despite a scramble to keep his effort out.
Not long after, the referee blew the whistle, confirming Iran’s historic win.
You can read more on the game here.
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Iran team news
Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand is back in the team after suffering a concussion against England in Iran’s opener.
🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗫𝗜 - #TeamMelli vs. #USMNT @USMNT#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/RPcG390QHp
— Gol Bezan (@GolBezan) November 29, 2022
Iran starting XI: Beiranvand, Rezaeian, Majid Hosseini, Pouraliganji, Mohammadi, Noorollahi, Ezatolahi, Hajsafi, Gholizadeh, Azmoun, Taremi.
Subs: Moharrami, Khalilzadeh, Ansarifard, Amiri, Niazmand, Kanaani, Ghoddos, Cheshmi, Torabi, Karimi, Abedzadeh, Hossein Hosseini, Jalali.
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USA team news
Youth knows no pain: Berhalter has named the youngest starting XI at Qatar. Josh Sargent is the man charged with leading the attack, replacing Haji Wright. And Walker Zimmerman, who gave away the penalty against Wales, is replaced by Cameron Carter-Vickers.
As Chad Noyes notes by email: “It’s the first time the US have fielded a lineup that includes ZERO players based in the MLS. Every player on the field for us today is based in Europe.”
The youngest starting XI at #Qatar2022 thus far. 🇺🇸
— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) November 29, 2022
Full Lineup Notes » https://t.co/QTnkPEKnw2 #USMNT x @Visa pic.twitter.com/TaaG7eI52N
USA starting XI: 1-Matt Turner, 2-Sergiño Dest, 4-Tyler Adams (capt.), 5-Antonee Robinson, 6-Yunus Musah, 8-Weston McKennie, 10-Christian Pulisic, 13-Tim Ream, 20-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 21-Tim Weah, 24-Josh Sargent.
Substitutes: 12-Ethan Horvath, 25-Sean Johnson, 3-Walker Zimmerman, 7-Gio Reyna, 9-Jesús Ferreira, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 14-Luca de la Torre, 15-Aaron Long, 16-Jordan Morris, 17-Cristian Roldan, 18-Shaq Moore, 19-Haji Wright, 22-DeAndre Yedlin, 23-Kellyn Acosta, 26-Joe Scally
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As may have been mentioned once or 7,468 times in the build-up to this game, Iran and the US have a little … let’s call it history. Both coaches have been asked about human rights in the two countries about as often as they’ve been asked about their tactics. Paul MacInnes was at a stormy press conference given by Iran manager Carlos Quieroz yesterday and then hopped over to see Gregg Berhalter give his views:
There were two other games earlier today, and they decided USA’s (potential) opponents in the last 16. As expected, the Netherlands beat Qatar comfortably to go through as group winners, while Senegal came from behind to beat Ecuador and advance. The Netherlands will play the runners up in USA’s group and Senegal the winners. So, if the US do beat Iran to advance tonight, they will probably play the Dutch. Probably.
One of the more intriguing storylines in the run-up to today’s USA-Iran game has been a claim by former US striker (and part-time Guardian columnist) Eric Wynalda around Gio Reyna’s lack of action at the tournament. Berhalter says the Dortmund player is carrying an injury while Wynalda says he has spoken to Reyna’s father and that is not the case – and the situation is causing “internal strife” in the US camp.
Berhalter addressed the issue on Monday.
“What I’d say is: I’ll leave it to you to decide if I asked Gio to lie about it,” Berhalter told reporters. “That’s just not who I am. That’s not what I represent. So if you have to take Eric’s word or my word or whatever, feel free, but I know what happened and that’s not what I represent. Like every other person, Gio is a member of this team that we care deeply for and we know can help the team. It’s a matter of when he can help us and how he can help us.”
The US have impressed many observers with their approach play in this World Cup - they just lack someone to finish the chances they create, a problem that cost them against Wales and England. Berhalter has not yet said who will play up front against Iran.
“I think [the US strikers have] been OK,” Berhalter said. “When we’re evaluating the performance in the first game, Josh had a good chance at the near post and, looking at the second game, Haji was very effective on the defensive end of the game, had some good runs into the channel, very lively. Perhaps there were a couple of times when we could have been more effective with the movement in the penalty box.”
Who needs what today
USA: A simple one. They must beat Iran to qualify, the result in Group B’s other match – England v Wales – is irrelevant to their chances.
Iran: Currently second in the group, a win against the USA will put Iran through to the World Cup second round for the first time in their history. A draw against the USA will also be enough for them, provided Wales fail to beat England.
England: A win against Wales will see England top the group. A draw will guarantee qualification. In fact, England will progress with any result except for a defeat by Wales of more than three goals.
Wales: Wales must beat England and hope that Iran and the USA draw. If the USA v Iran match ends with a winner, then Wales must beat England by four goals or more to knock them out directly. Wales have not beaten England since 1984, and have never managed a winning margin of four goals or more against their nearest neighbors.
You can get a full rundown of the permutations from the other World Cup groups here:
Preamble
Hello! Given the US’s so-so qualifying campaign, many fans would have been happy before the tournament if they knew Gregg Berhalter’s team would have their fate in their own hands going into the final group game. And yet, things could have been a lot easier if they had managed to follow up their impressive first-half against Wales with a decent second 45 minutes. And, against England, turned their dominance into goals.
But we’ve known for a long time that the lack of a true goalscorer is this young team’s main problem – and that’s unlikely to be resolved in the [checks watch] 90 minutes before kick-off.
Having said all that, this talented generation of players will peak in 2026, when the US co-host the World Cup, and even if they go out today, there are signs that the foundations are strong (whether Gregg Berhalter survives is another question).
USA’s World Cup so far:
In the opener, the US came storming out the gates and looked like they would carve up Wales for a convincing victory after Tim Weah’s goal. But the Americans faded badly in the second period and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
USA then faced England, and maintained their unbeaten record against the Three Lions at the World Cup. The Americans were the better team but could not covert chances in a 0-0 draw.
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