World Cup: ‘Captain America’ Pulisic is USA’s superhero in win over Iran

He’s not known as ‘Captain America’ with out a motive.

The ‘Great Satan vs Axis of Evil’ rematch was all the time going to be a grinding affair. A superhero effort by Christian Pulisic was finally the distinction between the USA and Iran, with the previous clinching a 1-0 win to oust their geopolitical rivals and qualify for the Round of 16.

The second got here deven minutes earlier than half time. Weston McKennie floated a ball contained in the Iranian field on the proper in direction of Sergiño Dest, who cushioned a header throughout the face of the purpose. Pulisic got here bursting by way of a wall of Iranian defence to attain the purpose that finally proved to be the winner. But in doing so, he clattered into Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and because the spectators within the stands celebrated the strike, Pulisic lay flat on the bottom for nearly 4 minutes.

When the Chelsea star managed to get again on his toes, he tried to proceed however needed to be instantly taken off. At half time, he was taken to a hospital with dizziness and to endure scans. It has been reported that he suffered pelvic contusion however coach Gregg Berhalter expressed hope that he’ll be match for the Round of 16 conflict in opposition to the Netherlands on Saturday.

“Christian makes those runs. That’s what he does. That’s the special quality he has,” Berhalter mentioned in a post-match press convention. after the sport. “As soon as the ball is wide, he goes in with intensity into the penalty box and good things happen and you score goals. We’ve seen at Chelsea he’s scored a number of goals on the same types of runs. He crashes the box and makes it really difficult for defenders with his change of pace.”

It’s these qualities that’s made Pulisic the golden boy of America’s golden technology. More than half of the gamers within the US squad in Qatar ply their commerce in one of many 5 high American leagues – Pulisic is with Chelsea; the person who supplied him the help, Dest, is with Milan; the participant who crossed the ball into the field, McKennie, performs for Juventus. With a median age of 25, the beginning 11 in opposition to Iran on Tuesday was the youngest but at this World Cup. Berhalter mentioned he has one eye on the 2026 World Cup, which will likely be co-hosted by the US.

Christian Pulisic of the United States is helped off the pitch after struggling an harm in the course of the World Cup group B match. (AP)

And most of their plans will likely be centred round 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 appeared again. His exploits with Dortmund made him one in every of hottest commodities in European soccer, which was underlined when Chelsea signed him for near $60 million three years in the past.

His much-hyped transfer to England didn’t go as deliberate initially, as Pulisic discovered it laborious to copy his type and was down with accidents. In his autobiography revealed final month, he revealed that he suffered with melancholy after shifting to Chelsea, when he didn’t get sufficient enjoying time and was nursing accidents.

Pulisic – and crew US will hope the knock he suffered in opposition to Iran gained’t render him out of the Round of 16 match in opposition to the Netherlands. Without their superhero, an already daunting fixture for the US will solely get more durable.