DOHA, Qatar — The USMNT beat Iran 1-0 on Matchday 3 of the World Cup on Tuesday. The win gave the U.S. (five points) a second-place finish in Group B behind England (seven points) and set up a Round of 16 clash on Saturday between the U.S. and the Netherlands.
Sargent was phenomenal. Maybe the most underrated player in this game not named Zimmerman. And to think that, despite the ups and downs, the U.S. is into the knockout stages after not being in the competition at all in 2018. Let’s all celebrate that.
Ummmmmm... Gio Renya? I mean Wynalda has brought it up, while Grant you're sticking to the families are friends and all is good. But seriously? Either he's injured or their's bad blood or Berhalter is just plain confusing me. Was he really playing for a 1-0 win in the second half? If he wanted a win, and wants to give Renya minutes before round of 16, he was an obvious choice, and obviously missed this second half.
After bad-mouthing Zimmerman after the Wales game, I'll give him his credit. He dominated with those headers at the end of the game. Congrats. ...and to hell with EYE-ran.
Was at the game in Al Thumama stadium, opposite end from American Outlaws. Very tense game, very scary atmosphere with so many vocal Iranians. Many Iranian women had both a US and Iranian flag in hand. Last 20 minutes felt like a lifetime. Haji and Shaq Moore (18) shouldn't play, too nervous or lost. When McKinnie came out we lost center midfield.
Never left a stadium so quietly before, felt like a funeral.
I gave a US tshirt to a very nice Iranian man who said he respected us and the game. Win or lose be respectful, humble and proud of the boys in blue!
Grant, I'm in Doha would be cool to meet up at the Souq Waqif or something.
Phenomenal. It was a battle. And even though OUR subs would’ve been different, we aren’t the coach. And maybe inserting Reyna would’ve resulted in Iran tying the game? Great job USA!
Musah needs to control himself in crunch time, or Burkhalter needs to sub him out at the 60th minute or so if the US is ahead or even. His pointless foul with a couple of minutes left against England allowed a dangerous free kick that Kane nearly headed in, and two late fouls in this game gave Iran free kicks in the US half, one of them in a very dangerous spot.
He seems to be unable to run next to the opponent and pressure him without significant contact, and instead he tends to grab and pull when he is feeling the tension. They just can't afford to give up free kicks close to the 18 yard box against better teams, who will have the kind of players who can make you pay for that.
As others have mentioned, Berhalter's substitution choices continue to be odd. Aaronson I didn't have an issue with (we missed CP but hard to argue he needed to be subbed out), although still would have preferred Reyna to push for the 2nd goal/skill to keep possession. Late stage, Zimmerman and Acosta I can understand; but Wright and Moore? Bring in Reyna there for possession or even Ferreira. Scally or even Roldan would have been a better choice on defense/defensive mid. I'm failing to understand the logic, even more so seeing the results of those subs. Musah was obviously gassed the last 20 minutes and was barely hanging on (even committed what I thought was a 'tired' foul in a somewhat dangerous spot) but was left in.
Our 1st half will play well against the Netherlands but that 2nd half won't. They won't miss those open chances that Iran did in the 2nd half and we'll get smashed. Is Berhalter just stubborn or bad at recognizing the shift within the game to identify what an opponent will/is doing and making a tactical change to take advantage of the opponents new approach leaves them vulnerable, making the right subs (and at the right time), or both? I can understand starting to bunker at the 80th minute but prior to that the tide had shifted and we couldn't take advantage. Some of that is on the players for not executing changes (see Wright's scuff on that clear chance toward the end) but when you can visibly see us started to play off and be tentative to defend/cut off passes, that seems more coaching.
My 3 Thoughts on USMNT-Iran
The referee was exceptional. You could use this as a training tape for every FIFA clinic.
Just a tremendous team win. Tremendous.
CP gave all. Weah even though he should have scored at least one is shaping up to be our man up front. So many excellent performances.
There is definitely something real going on between Ggg and Gio. Inexplicable.
Sargent was phenomenal. Maybe the most underrated player in this game not named Zimmerman. And to think that, despite the ups and downs, the U.S. is into the knockout stages after not being in the competition at all in 2018. Let’s all celebrate that.
I think I set a new record on my Apple Watch heart monitor.
Damn Grant. You get these thoughts out quick.
Getting to the knock-outs means this was a successful WC. That means Berhalter has been a successful MNT coach [he said, while grimacing].
Our second halves have not been good, Berhalter subs today were terrible. Hope they play free and loose on Saturday
Deserved critical analysis will come later, but for now LET'S ******* GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Ummmmmm... Gio Renya? I mean Wynalda has brought it up, while Grant you're sticking to the families are friends and all is good. But seriously? Either he's injured or their's bad blood or Berhalter is just plain confusing me. Was he really playing for a 1-0 win in the second half? If he wanted a win, and wants to give Renya minutes before round of 16, he was an obvious choice, and obviously missed this second half.
I think Netherlands will present a similar challenge that England did. We could be really dangerous for them
After bad-mouthing Zimmerman after the Wales game, I'll give him his credit. He dominated with those headers at the end of the game. Congrats. ...and to hell with EYE-ran.
Moving on! Took few yesrs off my life at end
Was at the game in Al Thumama stadium, opposite end from American Outlaws. Very tense game, very scary atmosphere with so many vocal Iranians. Many Iranian women had both a US and Iranian flag in hand. Last 20 minutes felt like a lifetime. Haji and Shaq Moore (18) shouldn't play, too nervous or lost. When McKinnie came out we lost center midfield.
Never left a stadium so quietly before, felt like a funeral.
I gave a US tshirt to a very nice Iranian man who said he respected us and the game. Win or lose be respectful, humble and proud of the boys in blue!
Grant, I'm in Doha would be cool to meet up at the Souq Waqif or something.
Phenomenal. It was a battle. And even though OUR subs would’ve been different, we aren’t the coach. And maybe inserting Reyna would’ve resulted in Iran tying the game? Great job USA!
Such a great day and night. Nothing bad to say when you move out of the group.
Musah needs to control himself in crunch time, or Burkhalter needs to sub him out at the 60th minute or so if the US is ahead or even. His pointless foul with a couple of minutes left against England allowed a dangerous free kick that Kane nearly headed in, and two late fouls in this game gave Iran free kicks in the US half, one of them in a very dangerous spot.
He seems to be unable to run next to the opponent and pressure him without significant contact, and instead he tends to grab and pull when he is feeling the tension. They just can't afford to give up free kicks close to the 18 yard box against better teams, who will have the kind of players who can make you pay for that.
As others have mentioned, Berhalter's substitution choices continue to be odd. Aaronson I didn't have an issue with (we missed CP but hard to argue he needed to be subbed out), although still would have preferred Reyna to push for the 2nd goal/skill to keep possession. Late stage, Zimmerman and Acosta I can understand; but Wright and Moore? Bring in Reyna there for possession or even Ferreira. Scally or even Roldan would have been a better choice on defense/defensive mid. I'm failing to understand the logic, even more so seeing the results of those subs. Musah was obviously gassed the last 20 minutes and was barely hanging on (even committed what I thought was a 'tired' foul in a somewhat dangerous spot) but was left in.
Our 1st half will play well against the Netherlands but that 2nd half won't. They won't miss those open chances that Iran did in the 2nd half and we'll get smashed. Is Berhalter just stubborn or bad at recognizing the shift within the game to identify what an opponent will/is doing and making a tactical change to take advantage of the opponents new approach leaves them vulnerable, making the right subs (and at the right time), or both? I can understand starting to bunker at the 80th minute but prior to that the tide had shifted and we couldn't take advantage. Some of that is on the players for not executing changes (see Wright's scuff on that clear chance toward the end) but when you can visibly see us started to play off and be tentative to defend/cut off passes, that seems more coaching.