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Day 2 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar did not disappoint … unless you are a fan of the United States men’s national team. You probably aren’t overly thrilled because the Americans had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Wales as a result of an uncharacteristic penalty conceded by Walker Zimmerman with under 10 minutes to go. In other action, England got things started off with an expected bashing of Iran, while Senegal and Netherlands played a physical, contested match that saw the Dutch put it away late.
Here’s everything you need to know about the day’s action:
World Cup scores and schedule
England 6, Iran 2
Netherlands 2, Senegal 0
USA 1, Wales 1
Sour finish to USA’s World Cup return
We had to wait over eight years, and the first 45 minutes probably had you thinking that this team was looking like they had what it takes to make the round of 16. The second 45, it was quite the opposite. The U.S. had six shots and put only one on goal, struggling to deal with Wales’ physicality in the second half.
Christian Pulisic and Weah connected on a brilliant opener, but it was as if a switch was pressed in the second half. The U.S. prioritized defended, had most of their team behind the ball regularly and almost welcomed the pressure to go on the counter. But they never came close to scoring in the second half as the Welsh looked more likely to take the three points.
The end result is sour, not one of any form of sweetness. It adds pressure and nerves to Friday’s match against England. A loss there, and it will be time to worry ahead of facing Iran. But a point would make up for this let down and put the team’s fate on Matchday 3.
Here are the highlights:
Tyler Adams was superb
The headlines might go to Weah and Bale for scoring, but nobody on the pitch was better than Tyler Adams, who is the youngest captain in USMNT history. He plays a position in defensive midfield that is far from flashy,…
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