United States vs Wales

After eight years, the United States men's national team arrived to the occasion in Qatar that so many long awaited. The Americans would face another team in Wales that would be feeling the pressure of being at the World Cup for the first time in a long time. Both fan bases were ready for the occasion drowning Al Rayyan in noise.

Starting XI:

Matt Turner

Tim Ream

Walker Zimmerman

Antonee Robinson

Sergino Dest

Tyler Adams

Yunus Musah

Weston McKennie

Josh Sargent

Christian Pulisic

Timothy Weah

Josh Sargent almost opened the scoring for the USMNT just 15 minutes into the match. It was apparent the Americans were playing with high intensity as McKennie and Dest picked up yellow cards. The Welsh had no answer for this intensity and pressure poured on by the Americans.

In the 36th minute it would be Timothy Weah with a lovely through ball from Pulisic who would give the U.S. the 1-0 lead.

Now with the lead, for the Americans it would be about how they can maintain the pressure and being able to hold the Welsh in the second half.

We know at some point in the second half the Welsh were going to go for it and take the risk. This is where the Americans would need to know how to hold. Wales put the U.S. in long defensive spells that would take lots of concentration and discipline.

In the 82nd minute it would be Gareth Bale being able to draw a foul in the box against Zimmerman which prompted the referee to award the penalty. No mistake from Bale at the spot and would equalize the match 1-1.

Many USMNT fans felt like it was three points wasted after a careless foul just because of the dominant performance their team displayed. They dropped points on what was looking like a dream start and now put themselves in a difficult position.

Next up for the United States is a matchup against England on Black Friday.

Written by: Daniel Torres

United States vs Wales