The US saw off Iran at the 2022 World Cup
The only goal of the match was made in the 38th minute, when Weston McKennie - a player wearing a Juventus shirt - clicked the ball for Sergino Dest to cross down the right wing. Dest headed the ball into the box for Christian Pulisic to cut the edge of the box into the net of Alireza Beiranvand.
In the opening match to draw Wales 1-1, Pulisic also shone with an assist for Timothy Weah - the son of the legendary George Weah - to open the scoring. Pulisic thus became the first American player to contribute to two consecutive goals for his team at the World Cup, since Landon Donovan scored twice against Algeria and Ghana in South Africa in 2010.
Pulisic's high form helps the US finish second in the group, behind England, and will meet the Netherlands - the first team of Group A - in the 1/8 round. This match will take place at 22:30 on December 3, Hanoi time, at Khalifa Stadium, Doha.
Just one point to go forward, so on Al Thumana, Iran actively defended. In the first half, the Asian representative held the ball 39%, did not finish a single time and gave up the entire game to the US.
Iran's approach is somewhat troubling the US. After Pulisic's opening goal in the 38th minute, it was not until the sixth minute that the United States put the ball into Iran's net for the second time. McKennie poked a gap for Weah to penetrate the penalty area to finish Beiravand in the corner. But the goal was disallowed, as Weah was offside.
In the second half, Iran was forced to push up the squad to find an equalizer. In the 52nd minute, from a cross on the right wing, the striker replaced Ghoddos with a header from close range to hit the bar. This is Iran's first shot from the beginning of the match. More than ten minutes later, Ghoddos again missed his chance when he missed the post.
Since this situation, the US has begun to focus on defense, making Iran hold a lot of the ball but rarely have more chances to finish. In the third minute of injury time, they again approached the US goal. From the free kick on the left wing, midfielder Morteza Pouraliganji bent his head to send the ball to the post. In the 9th minute of compensation, Ali Karimi escaped to receive a header from his teammate and then fell in the penalty area under the influence of the American player. Karimi demanded a penalty, but after hearing advice from VAR, the referee Antonio Mateu refused. After this situation, the Spanish referee blew the final whistle.
The 0-1 defeat caused Iran to lose second place in the table to the US, and became the second Asian representative to bid farewell to the 2022 World Cup, after the host Qatar. On the contrary, the US continued but also suffered significant losses when Pulisic and McKennie both left the field due to injuries.
