Christian Pulisic (2nd from left) makes it 1-0 for the USA Photo: picture alliance/dpa
From BZ/dpa
With a painful goal, Christian Pulisic led the USA in the controversial group final against Iran to the round of 16.
The former Borussia Dortmund professional scored the acclaimed winning goal on Tuesday (38th minute) to make it 1-0 (1-0) in a politically charged duel that attracted a great deal of attention from the global public. The USA, runners-up in their group, meet the Netherlands in the round of 16 on Saturday, who won their group after beating tournament hosts Qatar 2-0.
24 years after Iran’s 2-1 victory at the 1998 World Cup, the Americans celebrated a prestigious victory after a dramatic finale. After missing out on the World Cup in Russia four years ago, the USA are back in the knockout stages, as they were at Brazil 2014.
Pulisic threw himself into the ball after a beautiful combination over Weston McKennie and Sergino Dest in the scene of the day, colliding with Iran goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand in the process. Five minutes later, the 24-year-old limped onto the pitch of the Al-Tuhmama Stadium again in front of 42,127 spectators. After the break, however, he was unable to continue due to a stomach injury.