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The North Americans won the second place in group B to access the round of 16 after beating the Asians by a minimum in a match that had them as dominators in the first half and resisted in the second. The Iranians speculated on the start and came up empty-handed. Those commanded by Gregg Berhalter will play against the Netherlands in the next phase.
In one of the most attractive clashes of this last date due to the geopolitical issues surrounding their countries and roughness in the previous one, the United States defeated Iran 1-0 and earned the right to be among the 16 best in the World Cup . With a goal from Christian Pulisic, the Americans pulled off a brave save.
The first half was a clear manifestation of each one’s intentions. On the one hand, Iran speculated and sought to defend itself by reducing spaces and looking for counterattacks, taking advantage of the fact that the tie classified them.
On the other, the United States with dynamics and a cult of possession, although suffering from offensive anaemia, something that had a negative impact against Wales and England.
However, Carlos Queiroz’s plan did not go well. The Iranians were too withdrawn and ran after the ball against an opponent who found on their sides, Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson, the keys to break the defensive lock.
The best chances for the North Americans came from above. First, a cross from Dest found Pulisic, but the attacker’s header was not inconvenient for Alireza Beiranvand. Second, Timothy Weah forced his way into the box and pulled off another easy header for the keeper.
When he averaged the starting half of the 45, he was a monologue of ‘the Yankees’, who ruled the ball and had long tenures, while Iran only lasted seconds. Vague one-man counterattacks from Sardar Azmoun or Mehdi Taremi were the Asian attacking options.
The goal fell after 38 minutes. Weston McKennie executed a deep front change for Dest, who overflowed and assisted Pulisic, who only had to push her. In the definition, he was beaten and could not go out to complement.
In the final part, Iran sought to have more weight in attack with the entry of Salman Ghoddos, but they lacked creativity to damage. While the Americans, in the absence of Pulisic and the favorable advantage, decided to back down.
With the ball in their favour, the Iranian offensive deficiencies were accentuated, who only collided with the rival defenders and threw crosses into the area looking for a hit.
The best situation was at minute 67, when the ball landed at Ghoddos’s feet only inside the area, but his shot went just wide. Then, towards the end, a header from Morteza Pouraliganji was the last dangerous situation.
The final minutes passed under despair and did not make the American defense suffer. It was a 1-0 victory for Gregg Berhalter’s youngsters, who reached the next phase and will play against the Netherlands.
The party crossed by international tensions
The United States and Iran starred in the most morbid game so far in this World Cup. The differences between Washington and Tehran at the world level are well known and the preview of the duel was surrounded by these additions.
Although these issues were not transferred to the field of play, where the footballers behaved professionally, the previous hours did have those geopolitical charges.
For example, the United States soccer association itself provoked anger among Iranian fans after publishing announcements about the match without the emblem of the Islamic Republic on its social networks.
The Iranian government even requested that the US team be excluded from the World Cup for these acts.
In the previous press conference, Berhalter and midfielder Tyler Adams said they knew nothing of these events.
However, even the press conference was tense. Adams was targeted by an Iranian journalist for mispronouncing the name of the country – to which the player said it was unintentional and apologized – and where they asked him, because of his African-American roots, what he thought of discrimination in the United States.
The atmosphere of this duel, to make matters worse in sports matters, was charged by the strong tensions between both nations.
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