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AL RAYYAN, Qatar — The United States men’s national team was forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in their opening game of the World Cup against Group B opposition Wales.
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Tim Weah put the US in front, slotting home after collecting a deft pass from Christian Pulisic. But after struggling in the first half, Wales came back in the second, with Gareth Bale converting an 82nd-minute penalty to force each side to settle for a point.
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Rapid Reaction
1. US can’t close out Wales
The tactical layout of this match seemed pretty straightforward. The US would have most of the possession while Wales would be content to sit back and try to nail the Americans on the break. And for much of the first half, that was exactly how things played out, with the US enjoying a 66%-34% advantage in possession.
The only question was whether the US could take advantage of opportunities when they came. For a while, it looked like the answer would be no. Joe Rodon nearly gifted the US a goal when he headed Weah’s hard cross right at keeper Wayne Hennessey, and Josh Sargent followed with a header that hit the outside of the post.
Wales then appeared to be settling into comfortable territory on defense, even as they generated next to nothing in attack. But a moment of brilliance in the 36th minute made for a US breakthrough. Sargent’s layoff to Pulisic suddenly found the American in space for one of the few times all half, and his pass found Weah in the clear to slot past Hennessey.
It was a deserved tally for all of the work that the US did in the first half, but it was made to suffer in the second, as Wales made tactical changes (more on that later) and committed more numbers into attack.
The timely introduction of Brenden Aaronson for a tiring Weston McKennie gave the US some much-needed energy in midfield. The…
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