Commentary: Young U.S. stars deliver defining moment with heart-stopping win over Iran
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Nine minutes of stoppage time?!?!
And exhale.
Welcome to the World Cup.
The United States men’s national team is moving on to the round of 16 after an exhilarating, heart-pounding, take-a-year-off-your-life group finale.
The young stars who needed to earn their stripes before a ball was kicked in Qatar cut through the external noise of a politically charged match against Iran and delivered their signature moment in the form of a 1-0 victory Tuesday.
All of the buildup before the tournament centered around this youthful cast of talented – but untested – players righting the wrongs of the failed 2018 cycle. They want to write a new narrative of American soccer.
One that is brash, unafraid and can go toe-to-toe with anybody in the world.
“We’re brothers,” midfielder Weston McKennie told Fox in his postgame interview. “We love this type of stuff, we love the pressure, we love the excitement. We’re a young team, we have our own swagger, our own style, our own way we connect with each other. You see we did it today. At the end, it was a bit of a heart-drop sinking moment, but we got it done.”
Yet for this World Cup not to be a failure they had to beat Iran with the eyes of not only what should be a record audience here in the States watching, but the whole world. After letting a win slip away in the opener against Wales, and then outplaying England in a 0-0 draw it all came down to the finale against Iran – a rematch of a 1998 group game won by the Iranians that knocked the U.S. out of that World Cup.
It always was going to come down to the finale against Iran, wasn’t it?
“It’s stressful,” manager Gregg Berhalter said after having to navigate the geopolitical minefield that a game against Iran is followed by a tense contest that featured those nine minutes of added time. “I think I have less hair on my head now.”
The difference-making moment arrived in the 38th minute courtesy of Christian Pulisic, the team’s talisman, who put his body on the line for his country.
McKennie served in a beautiful diagonal to right back Sergiño Dest, who had sneaked behind the defense. Dest headed it back across goal for Pulisic, who sprinted in and knocked the ball in the goal just as he smacked into the Iranian goalkeeper.
“We’re very thankful that he threw his body there, but the thing is, we got 25 other guys outside of Christian who would do the same thing,” McKennie said. “We know what our goal is, we know what we want to do, we know what we want to accomplish. Everybody is ready to give everything.”
Pulisic was subbed out at halftime with what was termed an abdominal injury, and his status will be the biggest question leading into Saturday’s knockout game against the Netherlands.
“It’s a wonderful thing when one of your best players is also one of the hardest workers,” Berhalter said. “He’s certainly that. I can’t say enough positive things about Christian.”
It wasn’t just Pulisic’s gutsy goal that defined the performance. It required dogged determination in the second half as Iran sent players forward and dove and begged the referee in desperation.
Tim Ream, the grandpa of the group at 35 and called in out of a last resort due to injuries to other center backs, was immense not only on Tuesday but in all three group games. Yunus Musah, a rising star on his 20th birthday, piloted the team forward, skipping past challenges and getting the team in dangerous positions. Tyler Adams, the poised captain at the ripe old age of 23 who handled an Iranian media trying to rattle him the day before with so much class, buzzed around the pitch with timely interceptions.
It all added up to this team’s first defining moment. First, because there can be many more.
Next up, Netherlands.
“I always say it’s us against the world,” forward Tim Weah said. “No one believed the U.S. could play good football.”