Good morning.
Last night I decided to watch the US match against Iran because I thought that would be the danger in the group. My condolences to the Welsh readers, but the aging legs of Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale never made me feel confident they could beat England. Two goals from Marcus Rashford and one from Phil Foden were enough to win 3-0 in that one, with Gareth Southgate’s side topping the group. There was no Arsenal involvement with Bukayo Saka ruled out and left on the bench, Aaron Ramsdale is unlikely to play unless something happens to Pickford and his arms T-Rex, and Ben White absent due to illness.
Meanwhile, I thought the US played very well in the first half. They dominated the ball and the territory, especially the midfield was very solid, and deserved the 1-0 at halftime. The goal was very well worked, a header crossed into the area by Sergino Dest was well attacked by Christian Pulisic who finished off at personal expense. It looked like the Iranian goalkeeper’s knee made contact with his special area but as painful as that can be – and most of us who have played football have taken that particular hit once or twice – you can usually get away after that the initial pain disappears. .
He was substituted at half time, taken to hospital, and in a subsequent statement, USA said: “Christian Pulisic has been diagnosed with a pelvic contusion and his condition is daily.”
Sounds a little more serious than a goolie smackdown, but maybe they actually served you some crushed nuts. Either way, a nuisance for the Chelsea man, who was probably the Americans’ best attacking player on the pitch in the first half. And I think they missed him in the second half. There were nuances to Wales’ play in this one, where a very good first half was followed by a not-so-good second. If there’s so much energy expended in the first 45 and it’s hard to sustain, or too many changes that break the rhythm, I don’t know. I think there’s a bit of a quality gap in some of the guys coming off the bench, and at just 1-0 we all know the state of the game plays a role.
This graph, showing the attack balance of the game, tells the story well. USA on top, Iran starts to come back and then in the closing stages the side behind starts to dominate as the leader sits down to try to hold on.
Iran didn’t really threaten Matt Turner’s goal too much. There was one who didn’t go too wide, but he didn’t have many saves to make, and I thought the Arsenal man was solid again. It was just that any attacking intent by the US evaporated, when they got the ball up they had a guy up top who made Yaya Sanogo look like Pele, and the ball kept coming back to them and back. With all the substitutions and some stoppages, more than 9 minutes of stoppage time must have been torture for the US fans, but in the end they made it through and qualified for the knockout stages.
They will face the Netherlands who, as expected, beat Qatar. The hosts finished bottom of their group. England will face Senegal on Sunday after beating Ecuador 2-1. That could certainly be animated.
Today, Argentina faces Poland and Saudi Arabia against Mexico. Lionel Messi vs. Wojciech Szczesny. All four teams can qualify from this group, so it should be an exciting night game duo. Before then, with France qualified, we may see William Saliba make his World Cup debut against Tunisia, while Australia take on Denmark in the other game to decide who progresses from Group D.
Well, let’s leave it there for this morning. Come back tomorrow.
