By Mohun Desai
After failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2018, The United States knew a concerted effort was needed to make up for this failure. After beating Iran 1-0 on November 29, some of this failure had been mended.
The 2022 World Cup for the United States has been a rollercoaster, but through this adversity, they’ve qualified for the knockout stages for the first time since 2014.
The first match against Wales was supposed to be a fairly easy stepping stone for their next match against the heavyweight England. However, a 1-1 draw propelled by Gareth Bale’s heroics for Wales mocked this reality.
Going into a key match versus England, the stakes were high as a loss would surely eliminate them from round of 16 contention. Despite the odds, the United States salvaged a 0-0 draw as the skills of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were stalled along with a strong attack from the United States.
Now that the United States was sitting at two points, a win against Iran was necessary. Undermined by the protests in Iran, there was a very tense atmosphere. With a win in the balance, the US rose to the occasion as Christian Pulisic scored the lone goal even though he suffered an injury in the process.
This run of consistency ended for the United States against the Netherlands where they were outclassed by the European superpower. An impressive Netherlands goal from Memphis Depay was later backed up by 2 more goals. Throughout this match, the United States was only able to find the back of the net once, with a goal from Haji Wright.
The United States’ defense couldn’t put up with their opponent’s attack as their cup run ended with a 3-1 score against the Netherlands.
Overall, the United States did make up for not qualifying for the 2018 World Cup though many fans believed something bigger could be achieved. However, many believed this competition was a step in the right direction for a country where soccer is not the main sport but is growing in popularity.
