More than an hour later, he contacted his
teammates by FaceTime to join the celebration.
Pulisic’s 38th-minute goal had held up, and
the United States had beaten Iran 1-0 on Tuesday night in their politically
charged rematch to advance to the World Cup’s knockout stage.
“Every single player is ready to lay their
body on the line to make sure this team is successful,” midfielder Weston
McKennie said.
After finishing second in Group B with five
points, two behind England, the U.S. plays the Netherlands on Saturday with the
chance to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.
“I always say it’s us against the world,”
winger Tim Weah said, “’cause no one believed that the U.S. could play good
football.”
Back in the World Cup after missing the
2018 tournament, the U.S. needed a victory to reach the round of 16. Iran
finished third in the group with three points and has failed to advance in six
World Cup appearances.
“The dream is over,” Iran coach Carlos
Queiroz said.
McKennie started the play for the goal when
he lofted the ball from just past the center circle to Sergiño Dest at the edge
of the 6-yard box. Dest headed the ball in front of the net on a bounce as
Pulisic charged up the center of the field past Ramin Rezaeian and Majid
Hosseini.
Twisting his body, Pulisic redirected the
ball with his right foot for his 22nd international goal and first in World Cup
play. His momentum carried him into goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
“Christian makes those runs. That’s what he
does. That’s the special quality he has,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said. “As
soon as the ball is wide, he goes in with intensity to the penalty box and good
things happen.”
Pulisic was sprawled on the field and for
about three minutes as he received treatment. He tried to continue playing but
was substituted at the start of the second half and taken by athletic trainer
Harris Patel for abdominal scans at Hamad General Hospital, where Pulisic
followed the game on phone apps. The U.S. Soccer Federation said Pulisic was
diagnosed with a pelvic contusion, returned to the team hotel and is day to
day.
“I sent him a text and checked on him, and
he said, ‘Best believe I’ll be ready on Saturday,’” McKennie said.
Weah nearly doubled the lead in the seventh
minute of first-half stoppage time but was ruled offside.
Raucous Iranian fans with horns and drums
in the crowd of 42,127 filled the lower bowl behind one goal at Al Thumama
Stadium, a circular venue shaped like a gahfiya, a traditional hat.
While the U.S. outshot Iran 9-0 in the
first half, Iran had a 4-3 advantage in the second, knowing it needed only a
draw to advance. Berhalter inserted Walker Zimmerman in the 82nd minute and
shifted to a five-man defense.
Nine minutes of stoppage time were
announced. Morteza Pouraliganji’s diving header in the third minute went just
wide. In the eighth minute, Cameron Carter-Vickers had a hand on Mehdi Taremi’s
shoulder as the striker slid into Matt Turner, and the ball squibbed through
the goalkeeper only for Zimmerman to clear it. Spanish referee Antonio Mateu
denied Iran’s appeal for a video review, and the final whistle blew after the
10th extra minute.
“I hope that our fans and our people in
Iran forgive us,” Taremi said.
Turner gave the U.S. consecutive World Cup
shutouts for the first time since 1930. Inside the locker room, teammates tried
to speak with Pulisic.
“Everyone was screaming, so we couldn’t
really hear too, too much,” Turner said. “He left everything, put everything on
the line there and was able to get the ball across the line.”
LINEUPS
Carter-Vickers, a son of former NBA player
Howard Carter, made his World Cup debut in place of Zimmerman and gave the U.S.
an entirely Europe-based lineup for the second time in a competitive match
since Major League Soccer began in 1996, the first since the 2011 CONCACAF Gold
Cup against Jamaica.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Josh Sargent injured his right ankle in a
74th-minute challenge by Hosseini and left three minutes later.
UP NEXT
The U.S. is 1-4 against the Netherlands,
all friendlies.