USMNT Meets Expectations At World Cup As Pulisic Steps Up; Now Comes A Test From The Netherlands

Expectations for the United States heading into the World Cup were to get out of a group containing England, Wales and Iran, and qualify for the knockout stages.

It is something they were able to do fairly convincingly in the end, at least that is how it looks on paper, boasting an unbeaten record across three three games. But going into their final game against Iran there were still some doubts, and nothing less than a win would do if they were to progress.

The Iran game was arguably the only one in which the United States performed as expected, even though it may have been a little too nervy in the second half as they hung on to a lead.

Possession numbers flipped in the second period as Iran dominated as the U.S. had in the first, but holding on to the 1-0 result would have been expected from Gregg Berhalter’s side.

Against Wales they played as well as they would have expected in the first half, dominating the game and getting the goal their play deserved thanks to an excellent finish from Tim Weah. But the second half was the opposite, allowing Wales back into the game to the point where it looked like the opponent might even grab a winner.

One worry for the United States going into the next stage of this World Cup is their game management once they are in a good positions. Berhalter’s substitutions have been questioned and the way they have allowed opponents to take the initiative once ahead has been a worry.

There are many positives to take too, though, especially from their display against the best team in the group and one of the favorites to win the tournament, England.

The U.S. performance against England was surprising in a good way. Maybe the team enjoy the game while it is still even and there is a good balance between defence and attack, as the score remained at 0-0.

It did appear that England themselves were happy with a draw, but the way the United States held their own, and even created a good chance for Weston McKennie, showed what they are capable of against good teams.

The USMNT will need to find that kind of team performance against the Netherlands, but they will also need something extra.

They are yet to score more than one goal in a game and only netted twice in the group stage. That said, they almost had a second against Iran only to see Tim Weah ruled offside by a narrow margin. It was another encouraging piece of play from the attacker, nevertheless.

They now need to be able to build on a lead should they take it, and there needs to be more conviction and composure in attacking areas. They certainly need more from their striker, whoever it happens to be.

The central forwards have played well in bursts, but not much of that good play has been in front of goal, scoring goals—which, after all, is what a striker is expected to do.

Josh Sargent and Haji Wright have shown good moments of hold-up play and off-ball work rate, but have struggled to impact games in the penalty area.

This is fine if the wide players are contributing goals, and in Weah they might have the ideal man for that, but it is not unreasonable to expect more from the U.S. in that central attacking area.

Berhalter included Jesus Ferreira in his squad and the FC Dallas man has long been a favourite of the U.S. head coach.

Perhaps he should return to that familiar name, as Ferreira’s style of play means he has a tendency to drop deep for reasons beyond simple hold-up play. If he can get involved, he can become part of the build-up and passing combinations, leaving more space for Weah and Christian Pulisic to exploit.

Pulisic’s winner against Iran didn’t come easy, and came at a cost to the USMNT’s star player. He had to leave the field with the injury he picked up in the act of scoring the important goal, and is reported to have suffered a pelvic contusion. His status is day-to-day, but Pulisic himself expects to be back for the next game.

In some ways the Netherlands will be the first real test of the tournament for the U.S.

England seemed happy to draw and the results in the other group games against Wales and Iran were what realistically could be expected prior to kick off.

Now, the Untied States are in a win or go home position, but their opponents will be too. There is always of the prospect of a tie and a penalty shootout, but Berhalter and his players will be looking to progress positively rather than rely on the lottery of penalty kicks.

It is in this situation that we will learn the most about this USMNT side. It could be said that expectations have already been met, the goal of reaching the knockout stage has already been reached, but there is no reason they cannot beat the Dutch.

A quarter-final appearance would leave no doubts as to the success of the United States team at this World Cup, and if they get there by playing some decent football, who knows what can happen with this talented bunch.