He isn’t known as ‘Captain America’ for nothing.
A ‘Great Satan vs. Axis of Evil’ rematch was all the time going to be an intriguing affair. A superhero effort from Christian Pulisic was in the end the distinction between the United States and Iran, with the previous profitable 1–0 to knock out their geopolitical rivals and qualify for the spherical of 16.
The second got here 2 minutes earlier than half time. Weston McKennie floated a ball contained in the Iranian field on the suitable in direction of Sergino Dest, who cushioned a header in entrance of aim. Pulisic got here by a wall of Iranian protection to attain what in the end proved to be the winner. But in doing so, he collided with Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Baranvand and as spectators within the stands celebrated the strike, Pulisic lay on the bottom for practically 4 minutes.
When the Chelsea star managed to get again on his toes, he tried to proceed however needed to be taken off instantly. Halfway by, he was taken to hospital for dizziness and to have a scan. He was reported to have suffered a pelvic harm however coach Greg Berhalter anticipated him to be match for Saturday’s final 16 tie in opposition to the Netherlands.
“Christian makes these runs. That’s what he does. He has this particular high quality,” Berhalter stated on the post-match press convention. after the sport. “As quickly because the ball is large, he goes into the penalty field with depth and good issues occur and also you rating. We have seen in Chelsea that they’ve scored many targets on the identical runs. He crashes the field and makes it actually tough for defenders together with his variation of tempo.
These qualities have made Pulisic the golden boy of America’s golden technology. More than half of the US group’s gamers in Qatar ply their commerce in one of many 5 prime US leagues – Pulisic is with Chelsea; The man who aided him, Dest, is with Milan; The participant who crosses the ball into the field, McKennie, performs for Juventus. With a mean age of 25, the beginning 11 in opposition to Iran on Tuesday was the youngest ever at this World Cup. Berhalter stated he has one eye on the 2026 World Cup, which will likely be co-hosted by the US.
United States’ Christian Pulisic is helped off the pitch after struggling an harm throughout a World Cup Group B match. (AP)
And most of their plans will focus on Pulisic, who moved to Dortmund as a teen, performed for his or her youth groups and made his senior debut on the age of 17. Since then, he hasn’t regarded again. His exploits with Dortmund made him one of many hottest commodities in European soccer, which was underlined when Chelsea signed him three years in the past for near $60 million.
His much-hyped transfer to England didn’t initially go in keeping with plan, as Pulisic discovered it tough to copy his type and was down with accidents. In his autobiography printed final month, he revealed he suffered melancholy following his transfer to Chelsea, when he didn’t get sufficient taking part in time and struggled with accidents.
Pulisic – and Team US will hope that the knock he suffered in opposition to Iran would not rule him out of the Round of 16 match in opposition to the Netherlands. Without his superhero, an already difficult stability for America will solely get more durable.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
