Gareth Bale settled with America – Sport – Kommersant

At the World Cup, the second match in Group B took place, in which the US and Wales teams played a 1-1 draw. Thus, both teams took one point each. The British are leading with three points, but nothing has been lost for the Iranians, who have lost much to them.

The USA-Wales match was key for both teams in the group stage. After the British, having defeated the Iranians 6:2, immediately confirmed the status of the undisputed favorite in this quartet, it already generally became clear who would get the first ticket to the play-offs here and what the fight between the other teams would be for the second one. And although the same Iran is theoretically too early to discount, it has greatly spoiled the difference between goals scored and conceded, and it is this indicator that will be decisive after the number of points scored in the distribution of places. And the team of the Portuguese specialist Carlos Queiroz looked unconvincing in terms of the game. So the chances of the US and Wales to qualify from the group have automatically increased.

On paper, it was a confrontation of equal rivals. The Welsh, of course, are gradually changing generations, but almost everything is still tied to the 33-year-old Gareth Bale, who, by the way, recently moved to the American MLS league, signing a contract with Los Angeles. If he is ok, then the team feels good. However, Bale is not eternal, and age takes its toll. The same applies to Aaron Ramsey and other veterans still in service.

The Americans, in the presence of performers already known in Europe like Christian Pulisic from Chelsea and Weston McKenny from Juventus, have a team for growth. Many experts believe that its true potential will be revealed in four years at the home world championship, which, together with the United States, will be held by Mexico and Canada. True, Pulisic said that the Americans are going to compete for the main football trophy right now.

Gregg Berhalter’s young team started the opening game in Qatar with great enthusiasm, gained control of the ball and claimed territory. Quickly enough, she could turn her advantage into a goal. First, Wales central defender Joe Rodon unexpectedly hit his own goal, trying to interrupt the transfer of Timothy Weah into the penalty area, and, fortunately for the Welsh, hit goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy, and then American striker Joshua Sargent dangerously hit the second pace and missed a little.

However, soon Pulisic and the company sent aggression in the wrong direction and earned two yellow cards in a row for being rude. But the acuteness in the attack of the American youth disappeared, despite the fact that the nature of the game did not change and it proceeded under the dictation of the US team. Wards of Robert Page, it would seem, blocked all approaches to the penalty area, despite the fact that they themselves almost did not appear at the gates of others. And Bale was nowhere to be seen. The fact that he was still on the field was “revealed” at the end of the first half, when the Welsh leader was presented with a “yellow card”. Bale got fired up because by then his team still conceded. The son of the famous former Liberian striker George Weah opened up behind the backs of the defenders, received a timely pass on the verge of offside from Pulisic and rolled the ball into the net. Weah Jr. played just in his father’s style, because he clicked such moments as nuts.

In the second half, Wales also went ahead under the leadership of the revived Bale and Ramsey. In addition, the athletic Kieffer Moore was called off the bench to put additional pressure on the American center of defense. The Welsh seized the initiative, but acted somewhat primitively in positional attack, preferring to load the ball into the penalty area on horseback at any convenient opportunity. However, this tactic had a right to exist. A Ben Davis header was deflected by goaltender Matt Turner, and then Moore shot just over the crossbar when there was no one to defend the net.

The Americans resigned rather sharply compared to the first half and were mainly thinking about how to maintain a minimal advantage. But they failed to keep him. Ramsey and Bale still did their job. The first acted in accompaniment, and the second forced defender Walker Zimmerman to foul on himself. The referee did not hesitate to award a penalty, and Bale himself converted it. Only after that, the US team again remembered the attack, and often also tried to just throw the ball into the penalty area. In the end, the match, probably, could swing in one direction or the other, but a 1-1 draw was a more fair result, which suited the Iranian team quite well.

Alexander Ilyin