The USMNT drew with Wales yesterday, and got their World Cup campaign started with a point. As a USMNT fan, I've got to say the draw feels like a loss. America dominated the 1st half. Their 1-0 halftime lead could have been 2. Wales is a team we SHOULD be getting 3 points off of. Tim Ream's ill-timed challenge in the box in the 80th minute put one of the world's best goal scorers, Gareth Bale, on the spot. To nobody's surprise, he fired it in the top right corner to draw Wales even. America did not respond to the goal by Wales as The Yanks could not get a single shot on target in the final 10 minutes. With that said, America is not out of the tournament. Here's how the USMNT can make it out of Group B.
America has England on Black Friday. This is a massive game. England looked really good against Iran scoring 6 goals. The Three Lions have played a very conservative style under their current manager. After yesterday's 6-2 thrashing of Iran, that might have changed. They present a very different challenge for America. America will need to play great defense and look to hit England on the counter-attack. Although the USMNT can do this, it is a big ask. America needs to be crisper in the final third, and not commit stupid fouls. The climb to get out of the group stage is much harder. Here's how the USMNT can make it out of Group B.
Path 1
Simple: Beat England. This seems unlikely, but if the Yanks can pull off the upset win then they'll be going into their final match of the group stage against Iran with 4 points in pocket. Just a win over Iran would result in the US going through. Even if Wales beats England in their final match, it would be Wales and the US going through.
Path 2
Draw with England. This seems to be the most likely path if the Americans are going to make their way into the knockout stages. If we can go into the Iran match with 2 points in pocket, then a win over Iran would most likely put the USMNT through. They would still need England to beat Wales. If the Welsh draw with England, then it could come down to goal differential between America and Wales.
Path 3
Straight goal differential. If America loses to England on Friday, and Wales beats Iran, then we will need some help. Under this scenario America will be going into their final match with just 1 point, while Wales will face England with 4 points. England would just need a draw against Wales in the final match for both sides to go through. So America would need England to beat Wales paired with an America win over Iran. At that point it will come down to point differential between Wales and the US. So how close can you keep the England game, and how many goals can you put in against Iran.
