World Cup Now: USA displays maturity in victory over Iran
The United States needed to beat Iran in order to advance past the group stage at the 2022 World Cup, and that is exactly what happened as the Stars and Stripes finished off a 1-0 victory to clinch second place in Group B and a date with the Netherlands in the knockout stage at 9 a.m. ET Saturday on FOX.
"World Cup Now" hosts Jimmy Conrad, Warren Barton, DaMarcus Beasley, Cobi Jones and Sacha Kljestan provided instant reaction to the USMNT's defensive stand to end the match and seal the victory. Here's what they had to say about how the United States squad performed.
Jimmy Conrad: Consistency has been key
The last three times we were in the World Cup — 2022, 2014 and 2010 — we've made it to the knockout rounds and that is a big deal, especially for this current generation of players. I'm like a proud dad over here. There's something about our consistency in this tournament that I don't think we saw throughout World Cup qualifiers. Even in friendlies, maybe we'd show well for a half, maybe we'd show well for a game, but then the next game wouldn't be good. We've been consistently good throughout this tournament. My big takeaway is that we did it. We got out of a group, a very difficult group. I thought we outplayed most of these teams for a good portion of these games.
Cobi Jones: USMNT showed they can win ugly
I'm feeling good. This is what we were waiting for. Not going to the last cup, coming back in this one and saying 'hey, we're ready to go.' And not only making it through to the next round, but we did it in style and proved we could play well. We didn't win all the games, but we played well in a lot of the games. They realized that it doesn't have to be pretty. Sometimes you just have to get in a situation where you know it's going to be a knock-down, drag-out fight and the other team's going to have most of the ball and the opportunities, but you can figure out a way to win. That's exactly what it was, especially in that second half. Just making sure that, as Sacha said, the kitchen sink is coming at you, but you deal with it. And for a young team to figure that out and continue figuring that out because it's not perfect yet. There are still some little nuances of the game that they are still learning. But I liked the fact that they realized, ‘We can win ugly, too.’
Sacha Kljestan: Great performances all around for USMNT
I'm buzzing. The team played well. The end was nervy, but any World Cup game where a team is about to get knocked out is gonna be nervy. They're gonna throw the kitchen sink at you. But I'm proud of the guys. They stepped up today. A lot of guys on the field had a good game today. When you have a lot of guys playing well, you have a great chance of winning, and I can't wait to see them play against the Netherlands. This team showed some resilience. The average age of the U.S. starting lineup was 24 today, which is the youngest starting lineup in this World Cup that we've had for any team. And they showed that they can find away to win today. Before the game, Beas said that their outside backs pinch in a lot and we've got to get our outside backs going forward and that was how we figured out a way to exploit them. These young guys, throughout the game, figured out a way to exploit that. A great run by Sergiño Dest, a great ball by Weston McKennie, and Christian Pulisic just wanted it more than anyone else in that box. Some good resilience by our team and that bodes well for our future.
USA's Christian Pulisic scores goal vs. Iran in 38'
DaMarcus Beasley: USMNT displayed maturity, learned from Wales draw
I think they showed a lot of maturity today. I think after that second half against Wales, they learned a bit about their team, about themselves and about how they play. And I think that showed from this performance. They knew they needed to win, they knew that Iran only needed to draw. So it was going to be a bit tense. They didn't go crazy. You saw it in the first half especially, where they didn't go out and press Iran. They kind of waited, baited and tried to make them make mistakes. And after that, they picked up every second ball, and they were aggressive in their defending. So hats off to the U.S. boys, they're into next round.
Warren Barton: Berhalter's moves paid off
I want to give Gregg Berhalter a bit of credit. Changing your back line, bringing Josh Sargent in, wasn't sure who was going to play up front, it's a big call to do that. They kept a clean sheet. And what's great now is he has a group of players that have a taste of playing in these games, have some minutes under their belt. He has people who are fighting for their spots. I really fancy the U.S. to match up well more against the Netherlands than against Senegal because of their physical side and how powerful they can be going forward.
Check out the full schedule for the World Cup and how to watch each match live here.
Read more from the World Cup:
- Chrisian Pulisic injury: USA star's status ahead of Netherlands match
- Christian Pulisic scores biggest USA goal in 12 years, as U.S. advances
- USA's run continues after thrilling 1-0 win over Iran: Three takeaways
- Highlights from USA-Iran must-win game
- USA-Iran social reaction: What people were saying
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